TEHRAN (FNA)- Russia and China took another step away from the US dollarafter the two countries agreed to develop bilateral trade using the rubleand the yuan.
It was just one of the major deals reached after the presidents of the twocountries, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, held talks in Moscow onWednesday, RT reported.
“Russia and China intend to develop the practice of settlements in nationalcurrencies,” Putin told journalists at the news conference following thetalks, adding that the states have signed intergovernmental agreements onexpanding the use of the yuan and the ruble in bilateral financialoperations.
A draft government decree on the national currencies trade was releasedearlier during the day. The document stipulates that Moscow and Beijingwill cooperate on development of national payment systems, as well asfacilitate cross-border payments in national and other currencies.
During the signing ceremony other major agreements were reached. Russia’sstate nuclear company Rosatom and China National Nuclear Power (CNNP)penned a general contract on building the third and fourth units at Xudapunuclear plant in northeastern China.
It was earlier reported that the deal is worth $1.7 billion andconstruction is scheduled to begin in October 2021 and August 2022.
In another major deal, inked following the high-level talks, the RussianDirect Investment Fund (RDIF), China’s Alibaba, and Russia’s Mail.Ru Groupagreed to invest a total of $382 million into an e-commerce joint venture.Alibaba Group is to provide some $100 million, while the rest will befunded by the Russian side.
The RDIF also signed a deal with China Investment Corporation (CIC) tocreate a joint scientific innovation fund and invest $1 billion into it.
“We expect that its activities will make a significant contribution to thedevelopment and implementation of the most advanced technologies andsolutions for the development of the economies of our countries and thefurther strengthening of our partnership,” RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.
After the Moscow talks, presidents Putin and Xi Jinping will depart for StPetersburg to take part in Russia’s key annual business event. Dozens ofmulti-billion dollar deals related to energy, industry, and finance, areexpected to be signed during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, which runsfrom June 6 to June 8.