(Reuters) – Russia's Finance Ministry is discussing the possibility of renminbi-denominated loans with Chinese authorities, but no decision has been taken yet, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told state media in remarks published on Monday. told.
“Negotiations with our Chinese partners have been going on for a long time. There are no decisions so far,” Siluanov told RIA news agency.
“We discussed this topic during our interagency dialogue late last year.”
Siluanov added that the Russian government is ready to start testing digital currency payments with China and Eurasian Economic Union member states and will promote the idea with partners.
He reiterated Russia's position that any action against Russian assets abroad would receive a symmetrical response in Moscow.
The European Union and the Group of Seven (G7) countries have frozen approximately 300 billion euros ($323 billion) of Russian central bank assets following the Russian government's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The EU and G7 have been discussing whether and how these funds can be used to: over 1 year.
“We are following the decisions of the Western countries. We also froze (like them),” Siluanov said.
Siluanov said Russia's budget was “under control” and this year's revenues were slightly higher than expected. He added that spending is slower than last year's pace due to tighter controls on prepayments and spending justifications.
(Reporting by Lydia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Tom Hogue and Lincoln Feast.)
