All of the statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are reproduced at the end of this article
Preface
It can be said that important US officials have come to the mainland one after another to visit the mainland.
First, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen came to the mainland for a visit.
At that time, a series of "sanctions" were made, threatening that mainland companies involved in Russian business would suffer "serious consequences".
However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has not yet come to the mainland, and the news that the United States is about to impose a round of sanctions on the mainland has come out, and it will severely crack down on mainland banks.
This time, it can be said that the United States is in a situation of "impatience and depravity."
Because China and Russia can almost be said to have abandoned the dollar in terms of trade, using their own currencies for transactions.
So, where has the Sino-Russian trade exchange gone, and what shameless actions will the United States make?
China and Russia have basically achieved de-dollarization
As the world's largest economic power, the United States naturally has a very large influence in the world.
The U.S. dollar has also become the main currency in international transactions.
After all, under the "authority" of the United States, many countries use the US dollar when doing business with the United States.
Even the "dollar hegemony" carried out by the United States is already deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
The same phenomenon also reflects the level of a country's international status to a certain extent, and the greater the right to speak in the international community.
On April 22 this year, the Russian Foreign Minister made a speech on trade between China and Russia.
In the context of the continuous and in-depth exchange of trade between China and Russia, the domestic currency is basically used in the settlement stage.
It can be said that the proportion has reached more than 90%, and it can also be said that in the trade between China and Russia today, the process of de-dollarization has almost been achieved.
At the same time, Lavrov also said that the current period can be said to be the best stage of relations between the two countries.
However, the economy and trade between the mainland and Russia are indeed developing very rapidly.
From 2021 to 2023, the volume of bilateral transactions has soared.
From $146.8 billion to $240.1 billion, an increase of almost $100 billion in these three years, which is definitely a staggering number.
And as more and more transactions are settled in yuan, this behavior has also boosted the amount of yuan reserves in Russia.
At the end of 2023, RMB savings accounted for 25% of Russia's foreign currency savings, making it the second largest foreign currency savings in the country, and this number is still rising.
Not only that, Russia has also repeatedly stated that because of the suppression of the United States and its allies, the country's economic and trade focus has also shifted from Europe to Asia.
At the same time, it is also actively carrying out the impact of "dollarization".
And the use of the national currency for settlement is naturally a harmless thing for the corresponding country.
But for the United States, a country that uses the dollar to control the international economic discourse, it is definitely not news.
In addition, more and more countries are now trading in their own currencies.
This also means that the advantage of the dollar is gradually weakening, and if this continues, the United States will gradually lose its international economic advantage.
And this is probably the last thing the United States wants, and now China, the world's second largest economy, and more and more countries are using the renminbi for settlement.
So, what will the "angry" United States do?
The United States is angry and wants to launch financial sanctions
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the United States and many other Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia.
The mainland, on the other hand, has always maintained the attitude and position of a neutral country, trying to mediate and make efforts to stop the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, the United States, for its part, has been trying to find evidence of the mainland's assistance to Russia, and has more than once publicly accused the mainland.
On April 23, the Wall Street Journal said that the United States was drafting to cut ties between Chinese banks and the world's financial sector.
And the media also said that the direct targeting of a country's banks and cutting off their ties with the world's major trading currency, the US dollar, has a very far-reaching impact on companies.
And Blinken has previously said that the United States is dissatisfied with the support that China has been providing to Russia for chips and key weapons technologies.
At the same time, it also expressed China's dissatisfaction with the support of Russian heavy industry.
Although the relevant US authorities did not say what they would do, according to a report by Bloomberg, the United States is considering blocking China's "aid" to Russia by sanctioning Chinese banks.
However, the US media also said that the sanctions plan is still in the drafting stage, and it has not been announced which banks on the mainland will be sanctioned.
Relevant people familiar with the matter also said that the US government has indeed preliminarily discussed the proposal to sanction the Bank of China.
However, the U.S. government does not seem to have any intention of implementing this plan recently.
Not only that, but the United States also seems to want to use diplomatic means to "cool down" this matter.
In fact, this approach seems to be understandable.
After all, when the United States wanted to sanction mainland banks, the mainland had already begun to "act".
According to data released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in February this year, the mainland's holdings of U.S. bonds had decreased by $10.6 billion compared with the previous month.
And this number is constantly increasing.
At the same time, as of February, this is the seventh consecutive month that the mainland has reduced its debt to the United States.
Not only that, since April last year, the mainland's holdings of U.S. debt have been below $1 trillion.
If this sell-off continues, the mainland's holdings of U.S. bonds will only become smaller and smaller.
Trade between the mainland and Russia is just a normal economic exchange.
The United States, on the other hand, made a big fuss about this matter, believing that the mainland had provided support for Russia's military development.
And try to use such an excuse to sanction and suppress the mainland's banking and financial aspects.
Such news and practices have also aroused a lot of discussion in the international community.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine essentially has nothing to do with the mainland, and the United States is constantly responsible for the mainland through this matter.
A spokesman for the mainland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also responded to this incident.
How did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs respond?
It has been a full two years since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.
In 2022, in order to prevent NATO's continued eastward expansion, Russia added some other factors.
Russia launched a special "military operation", and the Russian-Ukrainian war has officially broken out since then.
Now the war has been going on for two years, because many lives have been lost in this war.
And the Russian-Ukrainian war has also become the battle with the most casualties in the European battlefield since World War II.
So it has also caused a very fierce reaction in the international community.
At the same time, after the start of the war, Russia was subjected to sanctions by NATO and Western countries, led by the United States.
Since then, Russia's domestic economy has also suffered a heavy blow, but after all, Russia's economic strength was relatively strong and had a certain foundation.
So at present, it has also shown a lot of resilience.
However, while sanctioning Russia, the United States has also carried out a number of military assistance to Ukraine.
If you compare it according to the military strength of the country at that time, Ukraine is far inferior to Russia, but it can hold out for such a long time, which also has a lot to do with the support of the United States and other Western countries.
Now, however, the United States is questioning the normal trade between the mainland and Russia for no reason, and has repeatedly criticized it.
Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the mainland, also responded to this.
The mainland has always maintained a neutral attitude in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, hoping that the two sides can solve the problem through peaceful means.
It is very hypocritical to face the fact that the United States is providing aid to Ukraine on the one hand, while blaming the mainland for normal trade practices on the other.
The natural continent is strongly opposed to such a thing.
At the same time, he also said that the mainland also imposes export controls on some products, and the accusation of the United States is not valid.
Moreover, the mainland has never been engaged in the fire on the Ukraine issue, and has always adhered to a neutral attitude, and naturally it will never accept the act of throwing the blame.
Wang Wenbin also stressed that the mainland's trade exchanges with Russia and other countries are based on fairness.
Such normal trade exchanges are absolutely inadmissible to be undermined, and these are the legitimate rights and interests exercised by the mainland, and no country or force can be allowed to be infringed upon.
The Foreign Ministry's response also expressed the mainland's attitude that it will resolutely not carry the "black pot" in this matter.
epilogue
Nowadays, when the mainland and Russia conduct trade, nearly 90% of them use their own currencies for transactions, and it can be said that they have basically achieved de-dollarization.
In response to the United States' accusation that the mainland is supporting Russia in chips and other aspects, our side has also made its attitude clear that it will never accept such groundless accusations from the United States.
Blinken's visit to China has already begun, and it remains to be seen what kind of remarks he will make, but the United States, which has severed the connection between Chinese banks and world finance, will not scare us.
Text | On Yun Xuan
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Resources:
The Paper2024-04-18 -- In February, the two major "creditors" of China and Japan sold US Treasury bonds: China reduced its holdings for 7 consecutive months
Observer.com2024-04-23 - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: China-Russia trade has almost been de-dollarized
Observer.com2024-04-24 -- Provide "bargaining chips" for Blinken's visit to China, and plan to sanction some Chinese banks?
2024-04-23 -- When it comes to Russia, the United States is considering imposing sanctions on Chinese financial institutions?
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