Reuters has learned that it can take up to six months to pay for Russian oil imports through China. Document photo (2024 Reuters/Dado Ruvic)
[モスクワ ４日 ロイター] – Reuters has learned that it can take up to six months to pay for Russian oil imports through China. The background is financial sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
90% of Russian banks will open accounts in China by the end of 2022 to avoid sanctions. However, banks in China and other countries have become wary that if they are involved in trade settlements for crude oil and fuel oil produced in Russia, they could be subject to similar sanctions (secondary sanctions) from the US for be associated with Russia.
Russian oil companies have sought alternative payment routes as payments for crude oil and fuel exports have been delayed for up to several months.
As a result, the Shanghai branch of state-run VTB Bank (VTBR.MM), which is the only Russian bank with full branch functions in China, has been inundated with requests to open accounts. According to sources, there are cases where people have to wait as long as six months to open an account because the branch staff is limited.
VTB Bank declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
According to Russian business officials, attention to the problem of payments through Chinese banks began in January this year. A number of banks are said to be refusing to handle the transaction. “The problems at Zhejiang Zhenzhou Commercial Bank started in early February,” a source said in testimony. Several Chinese banks, including the Bank of China, reportedly suspended payment operations for Russian companies in December last year after receiving warnings of secondary sanctions from the United States.
Zhejiang Zhenzhou Commercial Bank and the People’s Bank of China (central bank) could not be reached for comment.
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