Investment firm Caderus Capital said it has been working to promote cross-border investment between Russia and China. Managing director Andrei Akopian also hailed Russia central bank's move to increase investment in yuan assets as "the best way to increase the popularity of the Chinese RMB among Russian investors."

Yuan accounted for 13.1% of the Russian central bank's foreign currency reserves in June 2021, compared with just 0.1% in June 2017. Dollar holdings dropped to 16.4%, from 46.3%.