Vladimir Putin has built up the Chinese currency, the yuan, as Russia's main reserve currency. But recently more and more Chinese institutions have stopped accepting yuan payments from Russia.
Russia actually wanted to continue doing business with China in the financial sector, but China is apparently declining in the new talks. The Chinese yuan plays an important role for Russia's economy - and for Putin's path to independence from the US dollar. It's not just Chinese banks that are feeling the pressure from the West in the wake of sanctions. Turkey in particular cut off some of its bank connections at the beginning of the year. Major lenders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also begun closing bank accounts of Russian nationals and restricting payment transactions with Russia. Russian oil companies are also faced with payment delays of several months or even transaction refusals because some banks from Turkey, China and even the UAE fear secondary sanctions. Russia could lose India as an important trading partner. India is considered one of the most important buyers of the Russian crude oil.