During talks on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to step up efforts to establish an independent trade network to reduce reliance on the US-led financial system, The South China Morning Post reported Thursday.
Yury Ushakov, an aide to Putin, said the two leaders agreed on “the necessity of accelerating efforts on the formation of independent financial infrastructure for servicing trading operations between Russia and China.” Ushakov said “third countries” could not influence such a network.
In recent years, both China and Russia have found themselves the frequent target of US sanctions. With tensions simmering over Ukraine, US officials have threatened to cut Russia off from the international payment system known as SWIFT.
Facing similar pressure, China and Russia have boosted their trade relationship. During Wednesday’s call, Xi said trade between the two nations topped $100 billion this year for the first time. The leaders also want to make fewer transactions with the US dollar and more using the Chinese yuan or the Russian ruble.
In recent years, the US has imposed an enormous number of sanctions on countries that have governments Washington does not like. Several countries are under so many sanctions they are essentially under economic blockades, such as Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria, and Cuba.
These heavily-sanctioned countries make natural allies and trading partners for China and Russia as they seek less reliance on the US system. For example, Iran has found a vital lifeline in oil sales to China.
A very, very positive development. Many third world countries are bound to follow.
When you (U.S.) constantly abuse your power/privileges, countries will abandon you. It is very ionic that U.S. has been trying very hard(unintentionally) to destroy its power related to the Dollar system, by sanctioning countries/pushing countries away from using the Dollar. Now it gets what it wants.
Yes, you built a highway. People use it and pay you. But when u use your ownership power to ban others from using it, people will suffer initially and they will build their own highway. Simple as that. No brainer, no brains.
US is in the path of self destruction with the obsessed mind of imposing sanction on other countries…!
How to lose friends and make enemies. We seem to excel at that.
Most of the country seems to be mesmerized by self-made enemies like Russia, China, Iran. I don’t know, is it the military-industrial complex pushing it for profit?!
Sanctions are an act of war and U.S. sanctions are currently against countries that are no threat to us and are not threatening us. The Europeans said they were going to establish a clearing house to trade with Iran. They never accomplished that. Hopefully Russia and China will have more success.
I have been wondering what is taking so long.
After the 2008 financial meltdown, it was countries most intertwined with US that suffered the most and the chronically sanctioned countries had almost no effects whatsoever.
Now that the US has weaponized the global financial system to achieve petty political misdeeds combined with the incredible corruption and malfeasance of many western countries, it boggles the mind everyone isn’t doing looking for alternatives.