Bilateral payment delays were the top discussion priority during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China in May and accordingly many alternatives have been brought up, such as using small, regional Chinese banks whose activities are harder for Washington to detect, payment issues remain. Barter trading would allow Moscow and Beijing to circumvent payment issues, reduce the visibility Western regulators have over their bilateral transactions, and limit currency risk. Russia is developing regulations for barter trading and China is also expected to do the same.
