US sanctions undermine confidence in dollar

President Vladimir Putin yesterday said that US sanctions policy was undermining confidence in the dollar and that Russia and China would find a way to stop the threat of measures against Chinese banks from disrupting their burgeoning trade.

Washington has hit Russia with waves of Ukraine-related sanctions and threatened secondary sanctions on foreign banks aiding transactions with Moscow. That has prompted some Chinese banks to limit dealings with Russian companies.

In televised comments during a visit to China, Putin said such sanctions were illegitimate unless approved by the UN Security Council. He said they were also counter-productive for the United States and demonstrated its "stupidity".

"They are completely devoid of common sense," Putin told reporters.

He said the United States was "sawing the branch they are sitting on" because its actions were undermining confidence in the dollar and causing countries to reduce the share of dollars in their reserves.

Putin said a solution was possible to the difficulties in Russian-Chinese payment settlements but did not say what it would entail.

Putin arrived Thursday on his first trip abroad since his March re-election, meeting President Xi Jinping for talks in which the leaders framed their nations' ties as a stabilising force in a chaotic world.

China and Russia's strategic partnership has only grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine, and Beijing has rebuffed Western claims that it is aiding Moscow's war effort.

China has also offered a critical lifeline to Russia's isolated economy, with trade booming since the invasion and hitting $240 billion in 2023, according to Chinese customs figures.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a Russia-China trade expo yesterday, Putin hailed energy ties between the two countries.

"Russia is ready and able to continuously power the Chinese economy, businesses, cities and towns with affordable and environmentally clean energy," he said.