In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran and China de

With the global economy upside down for over a month due to the American-Israeli war against Iran (suspended for two weeks since Wednesday, April 8), Tehran and Beijing see an opportunity to end what they consider a problem for the global monetary system: the dominance of the US dollar.

For years, they believe that Washington has been using the dominant position of its currency in international trade to leverage its influence and harm its adversaries and competitors, including China and Iran.

This supremacy is particularly evident in the global oil market, where nearly 80% of transactions are settled in dollars, according to an estimate made in 2023 by JP Morgan Chase. With Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, the passage from the Arabian Gulf through which over 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply pass, Tehran and Beijing have found a way to promote the yuan as an alternative to the greenback.

Enter the “petroyuan”

In practice, with the toll imposed by the Iranian regime, commercial ships are required to pay a passage fee in yuan, various sources confirm—this is just the beginning.