While China and the US are commonly cast as rivals on equal footing, Beijing remains fundamentally outmatched by Washington’s financial power, a leading Financial Times columnist argued.

China may be a military and economic powerhouse, but the yuan has “gained little traction as an international currency,” Ruchir Sharma wrote: It accounts for roughly 2% of global foreign exchange reserves, while the US dollar’s share is around 58%.

Global banks have forecast a strengthening yuan, but Beijing’s tightly controlled financial system limits the currency’s ability to challenge the dollar’s dominance, which the US leverages for geopolitical influence. “China will remain an incomplete superpower until it can match this financial firepower,” Sharma argued.