If Saudi Arabia agrees to accept yuan payments for its crude exports, that could eat away at the dollar’s dominance, a think tank strategist said.
China wants to buy more oil from Saudi Arabia, its President Xi Jinping has said — a move that some economists have warned could chip away at the US dollar’s global dominance.
Xi said China will « expand the scale of crude oil trade » with the Middle Eastern country on a state visit Thursday, according to a foreign ministry statement. He also agreed to step up coordination with Saudi Arabia on energy policy in his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The meeting, which signaled a warmer relationship between Beijing and Riyadh, comes after the US and its allies brought in a ban and price cap on Russian oil exports. Those are just the lastest in a string of Ukraine war sanctions that have spooked the Chinese and Saudi authorities, according to experts.
The meeting wrap-up made no mention of the idea that Saudi Arabia may start accepting payments in China’s yuan payments for its crude exports — something the two countries were reported to have under active discussion earlier this year, in a possible pivot away from the dollar.
