Economy
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If Beijing has been trying for years to impose contracts in its currency, the movement has increased in recent months, especially in energy.
On March 28, the Chinese hydrocarbon giant CNOOC and the French TotalEnergies signed a contract for 65,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United Arab Emirates. Nothing exceptional for these players, respectively one of the biggest importers of LNG, and the world number 2 in the sector. Except that the transaction was made on the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange platform, the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange. And above all, that it was denominated in yuan. A first for LNG, and an important step in Beijing’s attempts to impose its currency in its hydrocarbon exchanges, on a world market where the dollar has been hegemonic for half a century.
The ambition is fully assumed. During a visit to Saudi Arabia in December, President Xi Jinping called on the Gulf countries to go through this exchange created in 2015 to settle oil and gas transactions in yuan.
