Chinese money for Russian vessels?
Faced with the financial consequences of the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions, Russia's second-largest lender is turning to China in search of lucrative opportunities to offset losses – and it has even floated the idea of jointly building ships.
In August 2023, the Russian president Vladimir Putin entrusted the VTB Bank, which has been cut off from the global dollar system by Washington, with the management of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).
Andrei Kostin, the VTB chairman who has been in office since 2022 and is on Western sanctions lists, recently said in an interview with the "South China Morning Post" that he aims to identify Chinese partners in finance and shipbuilding since USC intends to shift its focus to the construction of commercial vessels.
China has been identified as a potential partner. VTB is considering joining the Chinese payment network Cips, which is oriented towards the yuan, as it would simplify transactions. The value of Sino-Russian trade increased by approximately 30% to USD 190 billion in 2022 and is expected to continue to rise in 2023. (pb)