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CHINA PLEDGES TO HELP RUSSIA OVERCOME ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS
Published time: December 22, 2014 09:51
http://on.rt.com/gb5u4d
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and his Chinese counterpart Xi
Jinping. (AFP Photo/How Hwee Young)
China's foreign minister has pledged support to Russia as it faces an
economic downturn due to sanctions and a drop in oil prices. Boosting
trade in yuan is a solution proposed by Beijing's commerce minister.
"Russia has the capability and the wisdom to overcome the existing
hardship in the economic situation," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told
journalists, China Daily reported Monday. "If the Russian side needs
it, we will provide necessary assistance within our capacity."
The offer of help comes as Russians are still recovering from the shock
of the ruble's worst crash in years last Tuesday, when it lost over
20 percent against the US dollar and the euro. The Russian currency
bounced back the next day, but it still has lost almost half of its
value since March.
At his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Vladimir Putin
acknowledged the ruble has been tumbling along with the price of oil,
and estimated that Western sanctions account for 25-30 percent of the
Russian economic crisis. However, the president's economic forecast
is that the slump will not be a lasting one.
READ MORE: Putin: Russian economy will inevitably bounce back,
2 years in worst case scenario
Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng proposed on Saturday to expand
the use of the yuan in trade with Russia.
Reuters/Carlos Barria
He said the use of the Chinese currency has been increasing for
several years but western sanctions on Russia had made the trend more
prominent, Reuters cited Hong Kong's Phoenix TV as saying.
Gao said this year's trade between China and Russia could reach $100
billion, approximately 10 percent growth compared to last year.
READ MORE: Russia-China trading settlements in yuan increases 800%
The minister said he did not expect cooperation on energy and
manufacturing projects with Russia to be greatly affected by the
current crisis.
"Many Chinese people still view Russia as the big brother, and the two
countries are strategically important to each other," Jin Canrong,
Associate Dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin
University in Beijing, told Bloomberg. "For the sake of national
interests, China should deepen cooperation with Russia when such
cooperation is in need."
Gazprom's Power of Siberia pipeline - to deliver 4 trillion cubic
meters of gas to China over 30 years - construction commencing
September 2014. (RIA Novosti/Aleksey Nikolskyi)
China has been increasingly seeking deals in its own currency to
challenge the US dollar's dominance on the international market.
READ MORE: Argentina to get $1bn in currency swap with China before
end of 2014
And Beijing is not alone in attempts to counter the influence of
Western-based lending institutions and the US currency.
BRICS, the group of emerging economies that comprises Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa, accounting for one-fifth of global
economic output, has been pursuing the same goal. The five nations
agreed in July to increase mutual trade in local currencies, and also
to create a BRICS Development Bank with investment equivalent to $100
billion as an alternative to the Western-controlled World Bank.
Published time: December 22, 2014 09:51
http://on.rt.com/gb5u4d
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and his Chinese counterpart Xi
Jinping. (AFP Photo/How Hwee Young)
China's foreign minister has pledged support to Russia as it faces an
economic downturn due to sanctions and a drop in oil prices. Boosting
trade in yuan is a solution proposed by Beijing's commerce minister.
"Russia has the capability and the wisdom to overcome the existing
hardship in the economic situation," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told
journalists, China Daily reported Monday. "If the Russian side needs
it, we will provide necessary assistance within our capacity."
The offer of help comes as Russians are still recovering from the shock
of the ruble's worst crash in years last Tuesday, when it lost over
20 percent against the US dollar and the euro. The Russian currency
bounced back the next day, but it still has lost almost half of its
value since March.
At his annual end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Vladimir Putin
acknowledged the ruble has been tumbling along with the price of oil,
and estimated that Western sanctions account for 25-30 percent of the
Russian economic crisis. However, the president's economic forecast
is that the slump will not be a lasting one.
READ MORE: Putin: Russian economy will inevitably bounce back,
2 years in worst case scenario
Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng proposed on Saturday to expand
the use of the yuan in trade with Russia.
Reuters/Carlos Barria
He said the use of the Chinese currency has been increasing for
several years but western sanctions on Russia had made the trend more
prominent, Reuters cited Hong Kong's Phoenix TV as saying.
Gao said this year's trade between China and Russia could reach $100
billion, approximately 10 percent growth compared to last year.
READ MORE: Russia-China trading settlements in yuan increases 800%
The minister said he did not expect cooperation on energy and
manufacturing projects with Russia to be greatly affected by the
current crisis.
"Many Chinese people still view Russia as the big brother, and the two
countries are strategically important to each other," Jin Canrong,
Associate Dean of the School of International Studies at Renmin
University in Beijing, told Bloomberg. "For the sake of national
interests, China should deepen cooperation with Russia when such
cooperation is in need."
Gazprom's Power of Siberia pipeline - to deliver 4 trillion cubic
meters of gas to China over 30 years - construction commencing
September 2014. (RIA Novosti/Aleksey Nikolskyi)
China has been increasingly seeking deals in its own currency to
challenge the US dollar's dominance on the international market.
READ MORE: Argentina to get $1bn in currency swap with China before
end of 2014
And Beijing is not alone in attempts to counter the influence of
Western-based lending institutions and the US currency.
BRICS, the group of emerging economies that comprises Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa, accounting for one-fifth of global
economic output, has been pursuing the same goal. The five nations
agreed in July to increase mutual trade in local currencies, and also
to create a BRICS Development Bank with investment equivalent to $100
billion as an alternative to the Western-controlled World Bank.