Chinese banks ‘refrained’ from dealing with Russia over sanctions fears

Russian officials say they are working ‘to solve’ the issue after reports some Chinese financial institutions had suspended transactions

Major Chinese banks have suspended business with Russia following the attack on Ukraine, but the country is still a vital economic lifeline for Moscow

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Russian deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko said “we are confident this problem will be solved”. Photo: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Published: 9:00pm, 11 Feb 2024

China and Russia are in “close dialogue” over international payments processing after a Chinese bank was reported to have stopped transactions with Russia for fear it would be sanctioned.

Russian deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko said problems regarding payments between China and Russia “will be solved”, Russian news agency Tass reported on Friday.

Rudenko said a number of Chinese banks had “refrained from banking activities” with Russia due to “fears of sanctions” but he did not think China would limit transactions through the Financial Messaging System, the Russian equivalent of the Swift transfer system.

When asked to comment on reports of problems with payments between the two countries, including transactions through the Financial Messaging System, he told reporters: “No, we don’t have such an issue. A couple of Chinese banks refrain so far as precaution, over fears [of being] sanctioned. But we are confident that this problem will be solved.”

Trade between the two countries is expanding successfully, he added. “And this is the first demonstration of the fact that we solve such problems,” he said.

“We have a close dialogue with our Chinese friends and, of course, we will solve all the problems that arise,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a briefing call on Wednesday.