Critical Moment! China-Russia Bilateral Trade "Almost" Completely Abandons the US Dollar; BRICS Considers "Stablecoin and Cryptocurrency Settlement"

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently stated that the economic bilateral relations between China and Russia have nearly achieved complete de-dollarization. Currently, over 90% of bilateral trade transactions between the two countries are settled in yuan or rubles. Following this, both nations are now preparing to continue these already successful efforts.

Over the past few years, the BRICS economic alliance, composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia, has steadfastly aimed to de-dollarize the Southern Hemisphere countries.

This alliance chose to promote their national currencies, hoping to weaken the Western dominance over the global economy. Just four months into 2024, this goal has already made significant progress.

Now, against the backdrop of the flourishing BRICS alliance, China and Russia have announced that they have almost completely abandoned the US dollar in bilateral trade. In fact, this feat was discussed by the Russian Foreign Minister with the TASS news agency.

Moreover, economic cooperation between China and Russia will only expand further.

Throughout 2023, trade between the two countries only increased. Specifically, the trade volume between them reached a record $240 billion, growing by 26%.

On the other hand, trade between the US and Russia has dropped to its lowest point in 30 years.

According to Watcher.Guru, this is undoubtedly due to the sanctions imposed by Western countries following the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Indeed, the "weaponization" of the US dollar was the primary catalyst for these de-dollarization efforts. Furthermore, it has evolved into a key pillar for the infrastructure of the BRICS countries.

This development is definitely also beneficial for the ruble and yuan.

Moreover, it should set a precedent for the increased prominence of using national currencies as a byproduct of de-dollarization.

"It will be interesting to see how this affects further actions of other BRICS member countries," commented Watcher.Guru.

When asked about the economic agenda items as Russia serves as the president of the EU, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov mentioned that the BRICS alliance is considering using stablecoins and other digital currencies as part of this new payment network.

He responded, "Several options are being considered. For example, stablecoin settlements or creating a platform to unify participants' financial systems."

TV BRICS emphasized that this platform would become the so-called BRICS bridge, allowing settlements using different digital currencies of member countries.

Ryabkov stated that other more traditional methods have also been accelerated. He highlighted, "We have established special channels for central bank information exchange and approved cooperation regulations in the information security area."

In March this year, Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that there is a need to establish a "convenient, cost-effective, and politically unbiased" payment system to reduce dependency on the US dollar for governments, the general public, and businesses.