Moscow and Beijing have been developing a cross-border payment system without using the Western international payment system SWIFT - RT quoted Russian President's Business Committee Boris Titov as saying.
Speaking about the results of the international conference Russia and China: Cooperation in the new era held in Moscow last week, Titov told TASS that the two countries have accelerated efforts to transition from SWIFT to transactions in equivalent national currencies.
Many regional banks have replaced SWIFT with Chinas CIPS system, Titov said on June 3, stressing that the use of Chinas system for yuan payments will continue to expand.
Mr. Titov is also Chairman of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development.
Moscow has been promoting its domestic payment system as a reliable alternative to SWIFT as many Russian banks have been disconnected from the Western financial network by 2022.
Russia's SPFS interbank payment system was established in 2014 and has the same function as SWIFT. SPFS ensures the safe transmission of financial messages between domestic and foreign banks.
In January, the Russian Central Bank said that 557 foreign banks and organizations from 20 countries had access to SPFS.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly called for the establishment of new financial platforms independent of international payment activities, emphasizing the need for a more open and un giancated global economy.
According to Mr. Titov, the decision to switch to mainly using rubles and yuan in transactions has strongly boosted Russia-China trade. Bilateral trade turnover in 2023 will reach 240 billion USD, of which Russia's imports from China will increase by nearly 47% to 111 billion USD and exports to this Asian country will increase by 12.7% to 129 billion USD.
Titov also spoke about strengthening investment cooperation, saying that dozens of investment projects have been implemented in Russia and China through the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
The BRICS group of economies is leading the global de-dollarization agenda. BRICS has persuaded developing countries to eliminate the US dollar and trade in local currencies to strengthen their local economies.
BRICS currently consists of 10 members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Member countries are considering forming a BRICS common currency to replace the USD.
