The Chinese government issued its first petroyuan-denominated long-term oil trading contracts in the spring of 2018, with the move posing an audacious challenge to the petrodollar - the powerful instrument of global trade and finance ensuring the US dollar's status as the de facto world reserve currency for over 50 years now.
Saudi minister of industry and mineral resources Bandar Al-Khorayef told the South China Morning Post this week that Riyadh is ready to “do what’s in its best interest” and “try new things,” including as far as the use of the petroyuan in settlements for crude oil are concerned.
The comments, made on the eve of Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s trip to Saudi Arabia and the UAE starting Wednesday to discuss expanded cooperation with the oil rich Gulf kingdoms, signal a "new dawn" in relations between China and Gulf powers, Dr. Wang Zhimin, director of the Institute of Globalization at China’s University of International Business and Economics, told Sputnik.
“In energy cooperation between China and the Middle East, settlements using the yuan have become an important topic. The expansion of the use of the currency in settlements for energy transactions is a gradual and long-term process that requires step-by-step reforms, opening up, and natural market selection. In addition, given the relationship with the United States, the process of using the yuan to settle cross-border oil transactions by countries such as Saudi Arabia may encounter certain difficulties,” Wang said, pointing to US efforts to shore up the petrodollar as Washington’s global economic hegemony fades.
Pointing to the trend of “dedollarization” in China-Middle East trade, Wang cited the currency swap agreement reached between Beijing and Riyadh last year, and interest in using the yuan for oil payments as a reflection of a “growing trend of diversification of the international monetary system, including the decline of the dollar’s share in international payments.”
Russian economist Nikita Maslennikov says the petroyuan has good prospects as a major alternative to the petrodollar, which could leave it accounting for up to 8% of global transactions by 2030, notwithstanding “strong pressure, including political pressure, from other market players," and other factors.
“Sooner or later a single BRICS settlement system will emerge, and Saudi Arabia is also going to be part of it,” Maslennikov said, noting that it’s “extremely difficult” to predict the future status of the petroyuan amid plans by some countries to forge ahead with an “energy transition,” and take other steps, like launching digital currencies, which could lead “to a significant adjustment of settlements in national currencies.”......more below
Iran has warned international investors and financial institutions, stating that entities financing the United States' military apparatus are now considered legitimate targets in the ongoing resistance against American and Israeli aggression.
In a statement posted on his official X account on Sunday, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf emphasized Iran's resolve to defend its sovereignty and people against continued US aggression, which has resulted in immense suffering for Iranians through sanctions, covert operations, and wars.
"Alongside military bases, those financial entities that finance the US military budget are legitimate targets," the Parliament Speaker stated.
He condemned US Treasury bonds as instruments "soaked in Iranians' blood," saying that purchasing or holding such bonds equates to directly supporting attacks on Iranian lives and territory.
"Purchase them, and you purchase a strike on your HQ and assets," he warned.
Ghalibaf underscored Iran's ...
In response to threats by US President Donald Trump about hitting Iran’s power plants, the Intelligence Service of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says critical technology centers beyond the region will be targeted within 48 hours.
The Intelligence Service said in a post on X on Sunday that since February 28, Iran’s armed forces have managed to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the United States to evacuate its bases in the region, and damage and destroy technological centers of the Israeli regime.
From now on, the Service stated, Iran’s armed forces also have an eye on extra-regional technological and political targets associated with the Islamic Republic’s enemies.
Trump yesterday threatened that Iran’s power infrastructure would be bombed if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened within 48 hours.
Iran has declared that the strategic waterway is open to those who do not stand on the side of the Islamic Republic’s enemies. It has also warned of extra-regional ...
In response to threats by US President Donald Trump about hitting Iran’s power plants, the Intelligence Service of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says critical technology centers beyond the region will be targeted within 48 hours.
The Intelligence Service said in a post on X on Sunday that since February 28, Iran’s armed forces have managed to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the United States to evacuate its bases in the region, and damage and destroy technological centers of the Israeli regime.
From now on, the Service stated, Iran’s armed forces also have an eye on extra-regional technological and political targets associated with the Islamic Republic’s enemies.
Trump yesterday threatened that Iran’s power infrastructure would be bombed if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened within 48 hours.
Iran has declared that the strategic waterway is open to those who do not stand on the side of the Islamic Republic’s enemies. It has also warned of extra-regional ...
