China Daily reports today: "Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in 2022, the US, Europe and their allies have imposed more than 25,000 sanctions on Russia. In order to circumvent Western sanctions, barter trade has re-emerged in Russia's foreign trade, a phenomenon not seen since the 1990s."
For example, Russia exchanges its wheat for Chinese cars, flax seeds for Chinese building materials and home appliances, metals for Chinese machinery, and raw materials for Chinese services.
The West has removed some Russian banks from the SWIFT system, causing difficulties for Russia in international trade with international currencies such as the US dollar and euro, problems with the circulation of domestic currency settlements, and large fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate. In this context, Russia has drawn on the historical experience of barter trade from the 1990s, and restarted barter trade with friendly countries such as China - exchanging its wheat, flax seeds, metals, and other energy and raw materials for Chinese cars, building materials, home appliances, machinery, and services. This not only circumvents financial sanctions and regulatory pressure, but also solves payment problems, reduces financial risks, and meets the commodity needs of both sides, thus making this form of trade re-emerge.
Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1843376622993411/
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