President's special representative proposes establishing yuan-denominated fund to support technological imports

MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) - Boris Titov, the Russian president's special representative for relations with international organizations to achieve sustainable development, has proposed establishing a dedicated yuan fund for foreign purchases.

"We have a specific proposal to establish a dedicated yuan fund, equivalent to at least 3 trillion rubles, and use it to incentivize equipment purchases abroad," Titov said at a year-end press conference on Wednesday.

Titov said that this would help both exporters and importers that need to upgrade their equipment.

Titov said that the fund could help increase imports, bringing them in line with exports.

"China has plenty of decent-quality equipment that's cheaper than German or Italian. Russia's exports to China, in turn, need to be increased by adding food rather than raw materials, finished products. The Chinese believe, and they are right, that Russia produces very clean, organic food. But here, too, we're running into the need for technological innovation, in growing, processing, and storage," Titov concluded.