The yuan’s growing clout is undermining Washington’s ability to impose sanctions on geopolitical rivals. Dollar transactions, which are settled by US banks that Washington can control, are used in about 80% of international trade finance.

The White House’s Iran negotiations rely on the dollar’s leverage, but Tehran has blunted that weapon by using alternative financial architecture, The Wall Street Journal reported, including payments in yuan or cryptocurrency, and adopting a Chinese alternative to the Swift banking network.

Moscow has made similar moves since the imposition of Western sanctions in 2022, with 90% of trade with China reportedly settled in yuan or rubles. Yuan still only accounts for 6% of global trade finance, but that sum has tripled in five years.