Trade statistics show that instead of switching to payments in national currencies against the background of de-dollarization, China and Russia are making transactions using the euro. Notably, mutual payments in euros have become so frequent so that economists are perplexed. The EU is among those countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia. Therefore, it is rather strange to shift from the national currency of one opponent, namely the US, to the currency of the other one.
Experts at Focus note that while exporting to China, Russia receives payment in dollars, rubles, or yuans. Trade between Moscow and Beijing has been mainly in euros. Unfortunately, loud statements of the Russian government about the complete switch to transactions in the national currency to minimize the impact of the Western sanctions and the US dollar, turned out to be just empty words. China and Russia use foreign currency, especially the euro, in mutual payments. The greenback takes second place. The ruble gives way even to the pound sterling and the yen. The Russian government itself prefers foreign assets to the ruble. According to Russia's central bank, in the second quarter of this year, 50.8% of all exported goods from Russia to China were paid in euros. Thus, the euro has already surpassed the level of 50% for the second time. At the same time, it is difficult to grasp why Russia is sticking to such a weird strategy. It is reducing the share of dollars in its payments with other countries to weaken the influence of the sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Eastern Ukraine. The EU introduced sanctions against Russia for the same reason too. However, this fact seems to be forgotten.
This is why experts are now widely criticizing the so-called de-dollarization. By ditching the greenback and switching to the euro, Russia has traded bad for worse.
