Foreign: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov began visiting to China on Monday with a proposal to reduce the reliance on the US dollar and Western payment systems between Moscow and Beijing to push back against what he called a Western ideological agenda. Sergei Lavrov is expected to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart as ties between the two countries and the administration of Joe Biden are strained.
Speaking to Chinese media ahead of visiting, Sergei Lavrov said Moscow and Beijing were forced to develop independently from Washington to thwart what he said were US attempts to prevent technological development of both countries. “We need to reduce the risk of sanctions by promoting the independence of our technology, switching to payments in our national and global currencies instead of the dollar,” the Russian foreign minister said in a statement.
