"We held the talks with our Chinese partners but we did not plan the issue this year … It is possible and it is most likely that we will test this path next year," he told reporters.
According to Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev, the Chinese side showed interest in the instrument, adding that "what exactly is certain is that this will be a liquid benchmark, and this will be a curve, not the single issue."
The Russian ministry planned to issue such a tool on the domestic market with a volume of $1 billion for Chinese investors last year, however, these plans have not been realized due to the Chinese currency regulations.
Russia-China Cooperation
While Moscow-Beijing relations are at their highest point in history as described by Russian officials, Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov stated earlier in December that Russia may improve its positions and become the 12th largest trading partner of China in 2017. According to China’s customs authorities, over 11 months of 2017, trade turnover between the two countries rose by 21.8 percent compared to last year and amounted to 76.06 billion dollars, with Chinese exports to Russia having risen by 16.6 percent and imports dropped by 27.8 percent.
Earlier this year, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev, announced that President Vladimir Putin supported the idea of creating an investment fund in yuan, proposed by the RDIF and China Development Bank. According to him, the Russia-China Investment Fund had already made 19 investments, and was actively working.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund and the China Development Bank agreed in July to establish a joint 68-billion-yuan (some $10 billion) investment fund that is aiming to contribute to direct investments, including within the framework of the China's "One Belt, One Road" strategy.
According to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the local development fund between China and Russia could contribute to the development of regions in the Russian Far East.
Separately, Russia and China are considering the possibilities for cooperation on the issue of national payment systems, in particular on linking Russia's MIR payment system with China's Union Pay, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated.
