Iran official: China, Russia dump of US dollar is 'very good progress'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Oct 2022 17:58
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China and Russia's dump of the dollar may represent a victory in the face of US financial hegemony.

Adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader in international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati

The adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader in international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, told Russian sources on Wednesday that Russia and China's trade with currencies other than the US dollar represents "very good progress" in the face of Washington's hegemony of the IMF.

"China and Russia, being the two main members of the BRICS, which also includes India, South Africa, and Brazil, are carrying out many transactions with each other without the use of foreign currency [US dollar]. The fact that they are not tied to the dollar, which depends on the will of the US, is very good progress," Velayati said.

Since the end of WWII, the US has dominated much of the global economy, holding most of the gold and serving as the world’s creditor.

But recently, economists and financial analysts started to notice that the US dollar has been losing its status as the leading global reserve currency.

Prospects of the de-dollarization of the global economy are argued to be unlikely due to the fact that many consider abiding by the sanctions unfairly imposed on Russia too costly.

This may also be accounted for OPEC's most recent decision to cut oil output by two million barrels a day.

US officials have recently reached out to their counterparts in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers with an appeal to delay the decision. However, the answer was nothing else than a resounding "no".

Earlier today, US President Joe Biden threatened Saudi Arabia with "consequences" due to Gulf countries' resistance to Washington's pressure.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the BRICS Business Forum that Moscow was working on the development of "alternative international transfer mechanisms" with BRICS partners and an "international reserve currency" to reduce dependence on the dollar and euro.

The CEO of the financial services firm Sovereign Wealth Management, Gary Korolev, believes that it may take years for the alternative monetary system to come to fruition. But the final outcome is likely to be an equilibrium between the western dollar system and the BRICS currency basket.