Russian importers have encountered a new obstacle in making payments to China: banks that still have the opportunity to send funds to Chinese credit institutions now require written assurances that money will be accepted. This innovation complicates the work of Russian companies and leads to delays in calculations for goods.
According to the Russian edition of The Moscow Times , the situation forces Chinese suppliers to contact their banks in advance to confirm the possibility of payment. They must provide details of the agreement and get preliminary consent from bank managers. Only then do Chinese partners transmit information to Russian companies, which, in turn, have to confirm their bank in writing that the payment will be successfully made.
This scheme applies not only to sanctions, but also to payments in Yuan for non -entrance goods. According to sources of the publication, the problem arises from the fears of Chinese banks to get under secondary sanctions imposed by the United States. The risk of repayment of payments associated with these sanctions creates additional difficulties for Russian importers, since the process of refund is long and leads to financial losses during currency conversion.
Maxim Chereshnev, Chairman of the Council for Foreign Trade and International Economic Relations, notes that this process causes considerable stress in clients and becomes a significant obstacle to doing business. CEO of JSC "First Group" Alexei Poroshin supports this opinion, emphasizing that such difficulties can significantly complicate trade between Russia and China.
However, not all Chinese suppliers can receive preliminary information from their banks. Surana Radnaeva, CEO of Sinoruss Law Firm, notes that this service is unofficial, and large banks often cannot guarantee payments. The success of the transaction depends on many factors, such as the product category, the amount of the agreement and the recipient in Russia.
The situation with Russian payments to China has deteriorated significantly since December 2023, when US President Joe Biden has signed a decree on secondary sanctions. These sanctions were affected by foreign banks that facilitated agreements with sub-persons and supply of goods to the Russian defense industry. As a result, major Chinese banks stopped making payments from Russia, even in Yuan, and in the summer of 2024 they were joined by small regional banks. Currently, more than 98% of Chinese credit institutions refuse to accept payments from Russian companies, which threatens their activities in the international arena.
