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| US, EU seek to reduce dependence on Russian energy. Image inside Bovanenkovo gas supply facility on Yamal peninsula, Russia. (Source: AFP) |
Speaking to reporters after meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Brussels, Belgium, Mr. Blinken emphasized: "Russia's weaponization of energy is showing the urgency of that task and is an opportunity to accelerate our progress (in the global clean energy transition)...
We will focus on how we can continue to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy and promote clean energy production in the Euro-Atlantic region."
On the same day, the South China Morning Post reported that China is using its trade advantage to promote payments in the renminbi (RMB) in bilateral transactions to challenge the dominance of the US dollar in the international monetary system.
Promoting yuan settlement in trade and investment instead of using the US dollar as an intermediary currency is one of several ways Beijing plans to reduce its dependence on US dollar assets and prevent Washington from financially strangling China, the article said.
China is also lobbying to use the yuan in bilateral crude oil trade with Middle Eastern countries, which is a “potential challenge to the petrodollar,” the publication said.
Beijing is also interested in expanding trade and financial transactions in national currencies with ASEAN countries, signing agreements on RMB payments with some ASEAN member countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
At the same time, the paper stressed that the expansion of trading in yuan is limited by the fact that it is less convertible than the US dollar or euro, and also by the fact that China has always strictly controlled capital movements.
Currently, the CNY only accounts for 2.19% of world payment transactions; 3.5% of world foreign exchange transactions and 2.69% of central bank reserves.
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