Well, quitting may be strong language but I hate when the two agree on anything, and this is old news to some I'm sure.
Neat Youtube video as well...
St. Petersburg, Russia - China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday.
Related readings: China, Russia quit dollarRussia, China pledge to save the tiger China, Russia quit dollarNew power bridge across Russia-China border completed China, Russia quit dollarChina, Russia reach consensus on energy cooperation China, Russia quit dollarHighlights of Chinese premier's activities in Russia Chinese experts said the move reflected closer relations between Beijing and Moscow and is not aimed at challenging the dollar, but to protect their domestic economies.
"About trade settlement, we have decided to use our own currencies," Putin said at a joint news conference with Wen in St. Petersburg.
The two countries were accustomed to using other currencies, especially the dollar, for bilateral trade. Since the financial crisis, however, high-ranking officials on both sides began to explore other possibilities.
The yuan has now started trading against the Russian rouble in the Chinese interbank market, while the renminbi will soon be allowed to trade against the rouble in Russia, Putin said.
"That has forged an important step in bilateral trade and it is a result of the consolidated financial systems of world countries," he said.
Putin made his remarks after a meeting with Wen. They also officiated at a signing ceremony for 12 documents, including energy cooperation.
The documents covered cooperation on aviation, railroad construction, customs, protecting intellectual property, culture and a joint communiqu. Details of the documents have yet to be released.
Putin said one of the pacts between the two countries is about the purchase of two nuclear reactors from Russia by China's Tianwan nuclear power plant, the most advanced nuclear power complex in China.
Putin has called for boosting sales of natural resources - Russia's main export - to China, but price has proven to be a sticking point.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who holds sway over Russia's energy sector, said following a meeting with Chinese representatives that Moscow and Beijing are unlikely to agree on the price of Russian gas supplies to China before the middle of next year.
Russia is looking for China to pay prices similar to those Russian gas giant Gazprom charges its European customers, but Beijing wants a discount. The two sides were about $100 per 1,000 cubic meters apart, according to Chinese officials last week.
Wen's trip follows Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's three-day visit to China in September, during which he and President Hu Jintao launched a cross-border pipeline linking the world's biggest energy producer with the largest energy consumer.
Wen said at the press conference that the partnership between Beijing and Moscow has "reached an unprecedented level" and pledged the two countries will "never become each other's enemy".
Over the past year, "our strategic cooperative partnership endured strenuous tests and reached an unprecedented level," Wen said, adding the two nations are now more confident and determined to defend their mutual interests.
"China will firmly follow the path of peaceful development and support the renaissance of Russia as a great power," he said.
"The modernization of China will not affect other countries' interests, while a solid and strong Sino-Russian relationship is in line with the fundamental interests of both countries."
Wen said Beijing is willing to boost cooperation with Moscow in Northeast Asia, Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as in major international organizations and on mechanisms in pursuit of a "fair and reasonable new order" in international politics and the economy.
Sun Zhuangzhi, a senior researcher in Central Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the new mode of trade settlement between China and Russia follows a global trend after the financial crisis exposed the faults of a dollar-dominated world financial system.
Pang Zhongying, who specializes in international politics at Renmin University of China, said the proposal is not challenging the dollar, but aimed at avoiding the risks the dollar represents.
Wen arrived in the northern Russian city on Monday evening for a regular meeting between Chinese and Russian heads of government.
He left St. Petersburg for Moscow late on Tuesday and is set to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday.
Yeah, this is a real fuck off moment from Russia and China to us. Much as we may not like it, I believe it is reasonable and in their self-interest to do it. So far, we've shown no real sustained effort to get our financial house in order. I'm hopeful the new congress/debt commission/etc. will change that, but I am--admittedly--doubtful any real change will occur. Until we really put all options on the table (SS, medicare, military spending, etc.), we will always look half-assed in our attempts to correct our ways. To the same extent, we--the public--need to start looking at our own blame in the current debacle we face and realize that it is time to ween ourselves off the government teat. We need an across the board change in our thinking to solve this problem that gets people willing to sacrifice in the immediate to put our long term sustainability ahead of all else. Otherwise, we will continue to look like the financial "sick man of the world" and continue to lose our place as a world leader. I'm hopeful that we can become resurgent, but--right now--I feel we are in a sustained period of decline until we can begin to be upfront about the things we need to do to restore ourselves.
Partisan version: Obama really made us look like a paper tiger on his recent trip to Asia as far as international diplomacy goes and this is a really good example of the "Fuck off!" this man is garnering us from the rest of the world.
The sad thing is the press. Obama has allowed the US stature to slide so far in two years. We have two aces in the hole as a super power, the military and the dollar. he is allowing both to slide into the shitter. not an ounce of coverage by the main stream press.
its not just this either. if the TSA was groping citizens under Bush it would be his fault. under Obama the buck stops with the TSA, he is free and clear.
