As China continued its attempt to shake its dollar hegemony, yuan payments surpassed the dollar for the first time in China’s foreign trade transactions in March.
Tthe yuan’s payment ratio in external transactions stood at 48.4% last month, beating the dollar, which is 46.7%, making it the first foreign currency in history.
The yuan’s trade settlement amounted to $54.99 billion in March, up from $434.5 billion in the previous month (February).
The yuan’s share of foreign trade in 2010 was close to zero, but its rise to 48.4% last month is seen as another milestone in China’s attempt to reduce its dependence on the dollar. On the other hand, the proportion of the dollar has gradually decreased from 83% in 2010 to 46.7% now.
In addition, as China accelerated the globalization of the yuan, the amount of yuan payments in overseas trade surged last year.
The People’s Bank of China, the central bank of China, said in a briefing on the 23rd, “The amount of yuan payments in China’s overseas trade increased 37% last year from the previous year,” adding, “The proportion of yuan payments in all overseas trade was 19%, up 2.2% points from the previous year.”
In particular, Russia’s use of the yuan increased significantly after Russia was expelled from the International Interbank Telecommunications Association (SWIFT) payment network and agreed to settle the rouble and yuan in China-Russia’s use of the yuan increased significantly.
According to statistics released by the Moscow Exchange early last month, the yuan’s trading volume in February was 1.48 trillion rubles, beating the dollar (1.42 trillion rubles) for the first time.
During the same period, the yuan accounted for nearly 40% of the total trading volume on the Moscow Exchange. On the other hand, the dollar accounted for 38% and the euro only 21.2%. In February last year, before Western sanctions, the dollar was 87.6% and the euro was 11.9%, while the yuan was only 0.32%.
Among them, the proportion of yuan and ruble payments in China-Russia trade was found to have reached 70%. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at an economic forum on the 24th (local time), “The proportion of rouble and yuan payments in China-Russia trade has recently reached 70% from 30% a year or two ago.”
In addition, China also agreed with Brazil to use its currency as a settlement currency in bilateral trade, and Argentina also decided to pay for goods imported from China in yuan, not dollars, starting next month.
