Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov launched a visit to China on Monday and called on both countries to work together to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar and Western payment systems to counter what he described as Western ideology. The message did not mention China’s response.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is on a trip to China, called on China and Russia to reduce their use of the U.S. dollar, Reuters reported today.
Lavrov is expected to hold talks with China’s foreign minister as he embarks on a two-day trip to China, where relations between Russia and China and the U.S. Biden administration are currently at an impasse.
U.S. and Chinese officials concluded what the U.S. side called “difficult and direct” talks in Alaska on Friday. The meeting was a direct demonstration of the deep tensions between the world’s two biggest economic powers.
The U.S. has accused Russia of rigging the 2020 presidential election, which Russian authorities deny, but fear a new round of U.S. sanctions. Speaking to Chinese media ahead of his trip to China, Lavrov said Russia and China are forced to develop independently of the United States so that its attempts to curb technological development will not succeed. According to the interview transcript released Monday, Lavrov said, “We need to reduce the risk of sanctions by increasing our technological independence and moving to global currency payments using our own currency and an alternative to the U.S. dollar.” Lavrov added, “We need to move away from using international payment systems that are controlled by the West.”
Reuters said that prior to Lavrov’s visit to China, China’s Global Times hinted that Lavrov’s trip symbolized the close collaboration between Russia and China that would counteract the influence of “U.S. troublemakers.” The Global Times noted that the timing of Lavrov’s visit to China was particularly meaningful because the first country China chose to share information and views on important issues after the face-to-face communication between China and the United States was Russia.
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