China banks: renminbis for Russia heighten secondary sanctions risk

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“Thank You For Being a Friend” was the schmaltzy theme song of eighties sitcom The Golden Girls. It merits an ironic reboot to accompany China’s billions in lending to Russian banks. Russia badly needs external financial counterparties. The west has cut most such ties in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

What suits Beijing in its mission to promote the renminbi as a world currency could end up hurting Chinese…