Secondary US sanctions have become the strongest lever of pressure on Chinese companies cooperating with the Russian Federation. The fear of them could significantly complicate trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. Exports from China to Russia decreased for the first time since June 2022. Customs statistics show that the indicator decreased by 16% in March. The decline affected the supply of automobiles, industrial equipment and electronics. Chinese banks have become more likely to refuse to accept yuan payments from Russia. There are especially many problems with rejections from major market players such as ICBC, China Citic Bank, Industrial Bank and Bank of Taizhou. Almost 80% of transactions in March were rejected. The launch of the depository bridge between Russia and China was postponed due to political motives, not technical reasons. One of the federal officials said that the project was frozen precisely because of political considerations.
