Fri January, 2021, Age: 3 years
The EU and China are striving to cut their dependence on the U.S. dollar in a sign of waxing U.S. political and economic clout. In December, the share of the US dollar in global payments came in at 38.7 per cent, edging out the euro’s share of 36.7 per cent. The Chinese yuan fell well behind at a 1.9 per cent share, according to SWIFT data. SWIFT is the main international payments information system based in Belgium. Nevertheless China is making an effort to bolster the yuan’s influence, creating and promoting its own ‘Cross-border Interbank Payment System’ denominated in yuan. The EU is also attempting to curb its dependence on the U.S. dollar and the recent EU-China trade deal is an indication that the U.S.’s ability to influence global trade is diminished.
