Can the new China–Russia alliance destabilize the post-World War II order led by the United States?
Potential efforts to assist Russia to sell its oil and dodge Western sanctions have prompted fears about the survival of the global economic order. Some wonder if China and Russia’s continuous de-dollarization drive will expand, putting the U.S. dollar’s hegemony in the global financial system in jeopardy.
For over a decade, China and Russia have been trying to diversify away from the U.S. dollar mainly to shield their economies from Western sanctions and claim global economic leadership.
The U.S. dollar has been the world’s primary reserve currency since World War II. The greenback accounted for 59 percent of worldwide central bank foreign exchange reserves in 2021, followed by the euro (21 percent) and Japanese yen (6 percent). The U.S. dollar is also the most extensively used currency for international trade and investments.
