Russia plans to buy yuan regularly

The Russian National Welfare Fund is part of the budgetary assets of the Russian Federation. The fund was established to support the Russian pension system, improve the lives of pensioners, and address the aging crisis in Russia. And its funds can also be used to cover budget deficits in times of crisis.

In recent years, the relationship between the United States and Russia has been tense, the United States has continued to impose sanctions on Russia, and Russia has been seeking to de-dollarize. As early as 2018, Russia began to significantly reduce its investment in US Treasuries. In February last year, the Russian government adjusted the currency structure of the National Welfare Fund, reducing the proportion of US dollars from 45% to 35%. By March, Russia’s investment in U.S. government bonds had dropped to $3.976 billion, and more than 90% of U.S. bonds had been sold. In early June, it announced that it would liquidate the US dollar assets of its sovereign wealth fund, the National Welfare Fund, within one month, and at the same time increase the share of the euro and RMB in the fund.

While Russia has reduced its trade with the United States, it has greatly strengthened its cooperation with China, and its exports of various commodities and trade have increased. In July last year, the Russian Ministry of Finance completed the asset structure adjustment of the Russian sovereign wealth fund National Welfare Fund, and the proportion of RMB increased from 15% to 30.4%. Recently, the Russian Finance Minister stated that the Russian Ministry of Finance plans to implement regular purchases of RMB to supplement the Russian National Welfare Fund, which reflects Russia’s confidence in China’s economic development and the prospect of Sino-Russian cooperation.