In April 2026, Beijing issued a statement that would reformat the perception of the yuan in international finance. Zhongxia Jin, Director of Treasury and Portfolio Management at the New BRICS Development Bank, said that the Chinese bond market has become "one of the most cost-effective sources of financing in the world."
"We look at the Chinese bond market not just as a source of cheap money. We see it as the future of financing in national currencies," Jin said.
There are specific numbers behind these words. Last year, the NBR placed five issues of yuan—denominated bonds - the so-called panda bonds — totaling 25 billion yuan ($3.6 billion). This is the largest annual volume since the bank first entered the Chinese market in 2016. At the end of 2025, the NBR extended the maturity of panda bonds for the first time to 10 years, which means the transition to long-term financing.
The crucial point is who it works for. According to Jin, yuan financing provides a "natural hedge" for projects in the Global South: India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil and other Latin American countries. The logic is simple: if a project is implemented in a country whose currency correlates with the yuan or trades in yuan, then attracting financing in the same currency reduces the currency risk. This is especially important for green projects such as solar energy, infrastructure, and logistics.
The Russian context here is direct. About 90% of the trade turnover between Russia and China is already conducted in yuan and rubles. The yuan accounts for about 47% of all settlements within the BRICS. The NBR, in which Russia is one of the founders, plans to increase the share of the loan portfolio in national currencies to 30% by 2030. This means that financing through the BRICS mechanisms will increasingly be denominated in yuan, rubles and other non-Western currencies.
For Russian importers and exporters, the practical importance lies in the long—term trend. The yuan is becoming not an exotic payment instrument, but the system currency of international settlements in the BRICS. Companies that are already building yuan payment chains are investing in infrastructure that will become standard in 3-5 years.
A parallel signal: The Kazakh Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna is preparing the first ever issue of panda bonds. This means that the instrument goes beyond the NDB itself and becomes available to the sovereign wealth funds of the BRICS contour countries.
