China’s Heihe Rural Commercial Bank has stopped accepting payments from Russia after falling under European Union sanctions, Russian pro-government media outlet Vedomosti reported on Sept. 1.
Heihe, a small rural lender, was one of the last Chinese banks willing to process transactions for Russian non-sanctioned credit organizations after larger Chinese banks cut off such services.
Many Russian small and medium-sized businesses had shifted to Heihe following earlier restrictions.
The EU sanctioned Heihe on July 18 for providing cryptoasset services that allegedly helped Russia bypass sanctions. The measures took effect on Aug. 9, barring EU entities from engaging with the bank. Payments reportedly continued for several weeks, but were blocked last week.
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While China claims neutrality in Russia’s war against Ukraine, it has supplied Moscow with dual-use technology and continues to purchase Russian oil, indirectly bolstering Russia’s war effort.
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The reporting comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese President Xi Jinping in China on Sept. 1 during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, highlighting Moscow’s dependence on Beijing amid Western pressure.
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Good question, but I don’t know either.