China wants to pay in roubles for Russian timber, coking coal and seafood, as the two countries seek to boost trade in national currencies and reduce reliance on the dollar, Reuters reported on Dec 6, citing a Russian central bank official.

Russia's MICEX exchange will start trading in yuan-rouble on Dec 15 to support bilateral trade ties, Igor Marich, a vice-president of the bourse, told a conference on Monday.

This move follows the launch of the forex pair in China on Nov 22.

"Our importers need the yuan, there is no doubt about it -- they have worn down the doorsteps of Russian banks. It is more profitable to pay in yuan," Viktor Melnikov, a deputy chairman of the Russian central bank, told a conference in Moscow.

"On the other side, there is demand for roubles from the Chinese -- they are ready to buy timber, Sakhalin coking coal and seafood for roubles."

Russia is trying to raise the profile of the rouble both in the long-term hope it could become a reserve currency for other countries and to reduce its reliance on the dollar due to most of its revenues stemming from oil and gas.

China, Moscow's second largest trading partner after the European Union, is interested in establishing long-term supplies of oil and gas from Russia, the world's largest energy producer.

Around 40 banks have demonstrated interest in trading Chinese currency against the rouble and five of them will act as market makers, including VTB, My Bank, the Russian affiliate of Chinese ICBC bank and a local subsidiary of Bank of China, Marich said.
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Russian bankers at the conference were most interested in the possibility of speculative bets, asking if there was easy money to be made from opening a long yuan position and just waiting for it to appreciate.

"Are speculative operations possible? That word is a bit frightening for the Chinese," said Lang Weijie, vice president at ICBC, adding that such operations would only be possible with off-shore money.

According to the regulation, Chinese currency held in Russian bank accounts can only be moved into China if accompanied by a contract for a trade deal.

Russia's central bank said the yuan-rouble trade was aimed at satisfying importers and exporters rather than speculators, and cautioned investors against placing bets on the currencies without fully delving into the complicated world of Chinese foreign exchange regulation.

"If you want to develop this direction, you should teach people, find people with Chinese language. Without that, it will be difficult," Melnikov said.

China accounts for 9.5 percent of Russia's foreign trade. Bilateral trade rose to $41.8 billion in the first nine months of 2010 compared to $26.7 billion a year ago, according to the Russian Federal Customs Service data.

Russia is also looking to settle bilateral trade in national currencies with Turkey, Brazil, Vietnam and Algeria. Melnikov said talks with these countries were continuing.