Iran and Russia have used the currency to carry out oil sales and other trade, evading controls on dollar transactions.
Oh no! How evil of two sovereign countries to trade in their own currencies!
[...]
Future oil purchases, Hengli said, would be settled in yuan instead of U.S. dollars, the energy market’s main currency—making it harder for outsiders to track the flows.
It was the latest sign of a troubling new development for Washington. More of the world’s illicit activity to evade sanctions is being handled in yuan, as China builds an alternative financial system aimed at weakening Washington’s power to dictate world affairs.
Rules based order: trade between two consenting sovereign states is illicit; bombing kids and using illegal unilateral economic coercion to dictate world affairs is not.
The dominance of the U.S. dollar, currently used in roughly 80% of international trade finance, has historically given Washington a big advantage in policing global business. Most international transactions denominated in U.S. dollars must be settled by American banks, giving Washington the ability to monitor them—and cut off users’ dollars if necessary, crippling their operations.
But when U.S. adversaries use yuan to run their businesses, the transactions don’t enter the U.S.-led banking system, neutering Washington’s powers.
[...]
Tehran uses the money to buy Chinese car parts, solar panels and other goods and services, as well as dual-use inputs—materials purportedly for civilian use that could also be used for weapons—all beyond U.S. jurisdiction.
Those dastardly Iranians, trying to have cars and solar panels! How dare they?
...
Anyway, China winning, Iran winning, stay mad imperialists.
https://archive.ph/B0jlM
America thinking that taking oligarchs assets will hurt Russia is so funny. Not only will the Russian oligarchs have less power, they'll never trust the west again, and it accelerated their technological independence.
And now any country will seize the opportunity to shy away from the USD. Which has been one of their most important tools for imperialism.
How they never saw this coming is bewildering.
Russian oligarchs getting frozen out of the West has been the best thing that could have happened to Russia. Now those oligarchs have not only had their power in Russia diminished, they have been forced to keep their assets in Russia and re-invest them in the Russian economy. Putin had been struggling for decades to bring the oligarchs to heel and make them more "patriotic" and now the West has done his job for him. And of course it forced Russia to break its dependence on Western imports and re-develop its industries.
And on a larger scale, the West showing its true, ugly, russophobic face, banning regular Russians from travelling, banning them from sports, calling them names, discriminating against Russian artists, etc. has also disillusioned an enormous number of Russians who used to be enamored with the West. Pro-western liberalism used to be a very popular position in Russia among the well-off urban professionals and intelligentsia. Now people who still have that attitude are largely despised in Russian society.
One might say "blinding arrogance."
I had a much-needed chuckle aloud upon reading the post title. So predictable.