On December 17, 2014, China National Radio reported that the Russian Ruble was the worst performing currency with a 49 percent depreciation rate (against the dollar) this year and is damaging Sino-Russian trade.
One issue is that, along the Chinese border at Heihe, Heilongjiang Province, the number of Russian tourists has significantly declined since the beginning of November. Another is that, according to Tian Chunsheng, the Secretary-General of the China and Russia Eastern Europe and Central Asia Economic Institute, Russian businesses have now resorted to defaulting on their payments for imports from China, thus damaging small and medium exporters in China.
China National Radio noted that the China-Russia currency swap agreement signed back in October will be tantamount to China “giving money to Russia,” as the Russian Ruble continues to depreciate. It is because the Sino-U.S. agreement allows exchanges of currency based on a fixed exchange rate.
Source: China National Radio, December 17, 2014 http://finance.cnr.cn/txcj/20141217/t20141217_517131147.shtml