Against the background of positive developments in the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and smooth progress of cooperation in various fields, bilateral financial cooperation has made new headway. Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Ms. Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the two central banks to implement the important consensus of deepening bilateral financial cooperation reached by the heads of state of the two countries. During their 20th regular meeting in Beijing on 17 December 2015, the Chinese Premier and the Russian Prime Minister welcomed the MOU between the two central banks.
The goal of the MOU is to develop cooperation between the central banks in the spheres of mutual interests, including promoting local currency settlement; to continue cooperation in the areas of payments and bank cards; to facilitate the access of one party to issue local-currency bonds on the territory of the other party; and to enhance cooperation in credit rating. The two parties will tap the role of the Subcommittee on Cooperation in Financial Issues under the Chinese-Russian Commission for the Preparation of Regular Meetings between the Heads of Government, encourage practical cooperation in the above-mentioned fields to promote bilateral trade and investment activities and to inject new vitality into economic growth in the two countries.
The two economies are highly complementary and have great potentials for cooperation. The signing of the MOU represents the two parties’ acknowledgement of the progress thus far made in financial cooperation and signals confidence to deepen mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in the medium and long run.
