Russia and China have agreed to set up a joint rating agency as Moscow’s stand-off with the west over Ukraine has made it more eager to establish institutions that would reduce its dependence on the US and Europe.
“In the beginning, the agency will assess Russian-Chinese investment projects with a view to attracting of [investors from] a number of Asian countries,” Anton Siluanov, Russia’s finance minister, said in Beijing, according to his ministry. “Gradually, based on the progress and authority of such an agency, we believe it will rise to a level where its opinions will attract other countries.”
The finance ministry did not give details on the timeframe and detailed conditions for the establishment of the agency, but people familiar with the plans said it was likely to involve Chinese rating agency Dagong and a state-backed institution from Russia.