It has been China’s long-held dream to dethrone King Dollar. Beijing got its first break after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and Russian lenders were deleted overnight from the system that moves the world’s money. However, back in 2022, the yuan was nowhere close to confronting the hegemon. It would take four more years of preparation — and another war — to make it a contender.
I said in early February that those looking for evidence of the challenge to the US currency in payment flows were searching in the wrong place and that for years to come, de-dollarization would remain hidden in alterations to financial infrastructure.
That was before the US-Israeli war on Iran. A lot has changed in the past six weeks. China is the largest buyer of Iran’s seaborne oil.
