Ruslan Turdibayev, head of legal work at FINAM Bank, said it was now not a problem for Russian companies to settle their trade with China in renminbi, even if there were long-term contracts in dollars and other currencies 

Turdibayev pointed out that there are two concepts in trade: contract currency and payment currency, both of which can be changed by signing additional agreements. 
"Now Russian companies often choose to re-sign contracts, specifying new currencies and new banking details. Contracts can be registered quite quickly so they can be traded in renminbi without a problem." 

Mr. Tudibayev said there were examples of Russian companies getting discounts from China for signing contracts in Yuan. 

"The speed of payment in Chinese currency is very fast because there is no dependence on us correspondent banks," he said. 
He noted that it is now easy for Russian banks working with China to exchange and transfer money in yuan, and regulators have no limit on fees, so exchanges are made at an exchange rate acceptable to customers. 
"Of course, the yuan can replace the dollar in Russia-China trade," he said. "It all depends on how ready our partners are to do that." 

FINAM Holdings Group, founded in 1994, provides brokerage and banking services, owns management companies and investment funds.