BRICS Nations Shift: China, Russia Abandon US Dollar in Trade Transactions

• BRICS Nations Ditch Western Currencies for Bilateral Trade
• The De-Dollarization Mission of BRICS
• Strengthening Trade Ties
• Focus on Inter-BRICS Trade
• A Unified BRICS Pay System

BRICS Nations Ditch Western Currencies for Bilateral Trade

Recent developments indicate that BRICS nations, specifically Russia and China, have discontinued using Western currencies such as the US Dollar, for their bilateral trade purposes. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin emphasized on the thriving business relationship between Russia and China, wherein their bilateral trade turnover has already achieved the $200 billion mark, ahead of proposed time.

The De-Dollarization Mission of BRICS

The Prime Minister of Russia elaborated on the de-dollarization endeavor of BRICS, particularly Russia's role in this movement. According to Mishustin, the majority of the payments are now executed in Rubles and Yuan. He stated that the presence of national currencies in mutual settlements is continually growing. While the figure was approximately 20 percent in 2020, this year has seen the complete elimination of third-party currencies in mutual settlements.

Strengthening Trade Ties

In addition to the process of de-dollarization, the trade relationships between Russia and China have also become stronger in the past year. The nations have been actively working on multiple deals in their local currencies. Notably, a $25 billion deal was signed in local currencies in October to further enhance trade dealings in the food and energy sectors. The BRICS nations have fully adopted the concept of de-dollarization, especially in light of the Western sanctions imposed on Russia.

Focus on Inter-BRICS Trade

Russia is also playing a significant role in driving the initiative for BRICS to improve relations and trade within the bloc. Both Russia and India have settled $40 billion worth of trade in their local currency, and the remaining nations are also actively working on fostering their trade relationships with each other.

A Unified BRICS Pay System

In an additional development, Anton Siluanov, Russian Finance Minister, addressed the Russia-China Financial Dialogue forum in Beijing last week. In his speech, he emphasized on enhancing trade within the bloc as well as devising a unified BRICS pay system. He stated that there was a need to further cultivate financial cooperation within the BRICS countries. He saw potential in the creation of a payment system that would be completely independent of the existing infrastructure and would cater to the specific objectives of individual countries.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker