US Hegemony and Its Perils - China's Charge Sheets - Feb 2023

[Michael B-C]

That statement about a currency being credible is probably the biggest jab they take at the US and yet another show that they see right through the facade of the US, the dollar is not a credible currency... not for international trade when it is so unsafe in the long terms, as it provides the US the ability to sanction you and your business partners.

It wouldn't be long after Russia and China start trading in their currencies, that others would follow their example, dismantling one of the US' largest and most efficient weapons thus far, without it they have no military might as they couldn't afford it.

The groundbreaking announcement today by China of a mediated formal diplomatic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, cutting through 42 years of glassy stalemate between the two giant middle east states, could hardly herald a louder death knell for the dollar and US dominance over the region.

The Duran boys go into the many implications of this epoch shifting event.

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[Alejo]

ahhh, interesting.. and this is from January 19th this year.

Saudi Arabia says it is open to trade in currencies other than dollars

The kingdom is willing to consider trade relations in euros or Saudi rials, says the country's finance minister.

Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg that Riyadh was open to discussing the use of currencies other than the U.S. dollar for international trade operations.

Specifically, the Arab country is willing to consider trade relations in euros or Saudi rials. "I don't think we are rejecting or ruling out any discussion that would contribute to improving trade around the world," he maintained.

With such a decision, the kingdom would seek to reduce its decades-long dependence on the dollar, which, in turn, would deal a blow to the U.S. currency, given that Riyadh, the world's largest oil exporter, is a key player in the petrodollar system established in the 1970s, which is based on pricing crude exports in dollars.

Moreover, this would open up the possibility of Saudi oil being traded in the Chinese currency, which Beijing has repeatedly requested. At a summit with Arab countries in November, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to work towards oil and gas being paid in yuan, rather than in dollars.

Meanwhile, the Saudi minister stressed that the country "enjoys a very strategic relationship" with both China and other nations, including the U.S., and wants to develop that same relationship with Europe and other countries "that are willing and able to work" with Riyadh.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[Glenn]

Meanwhile, the Saudi minister stressed that the country "enjoys a very strategic relationship" with both China and other nations, including the U.S., and wants to develop that same relationship with Europe and other countries "that are willing and able to work" with Riyadh

That kind of sounds like a 'leveling of the playing field', does it not?

 

[Eboard10]

Portugal caved in to the Americans by moving a step closer to banning Chinese companies from becoming suppliers of the country's 5G wireless network infrastructure in favour of suppliers of European, NATO and OECD countries. Until recently, Portugal has been one of the EU countries closest to the Chinese, having increased trade deals and being the biggest European beneficiary per capita of Chinese investments. This U-turn is no surprise given the existing tensions between the US and China and the recent statement by Italian PM Meloni to likely not renew their membership in the Belt and Road Initiative, set to expire in March 2024.

Portugal Effectively Bans Chinese Companies From 5G Network​

• Nation bans non-EU, non-NATO and non-OECD 5G network suppliers​

• Huawei had worked with Portuguese firms on 5G network​

Portugal has banned companies from ‘high-risk’ countries and jurisdictions from supplying equipment for its fifth-generation phone network, becoming the latest western nation to effectively block China’s Huawei Technologies Co. from its market.

The country will prohibit the use of equipment in its 5G wireless network from suppliers based outside the European Union or from states that don’t belong to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to a government statement posted online Thursday.

Companies from outside these jurisdictions are considered to be a “high risk” to the security of national networks, the security assessment committee of the government’s Higher Council for Cyberspace Security said in the statement. That decision effectively excludes Chinese suppliers of equipment and services, including Huawei, which had previously worked with some Portuguese telecommunications firms to develop their 5G networks.

Altice Portugal in 2019 said it was working with Huawei to develop its 5G technology, although earlier this year it announced it had picked Nokia Oyj as the equipment provider for its core 5G network. A representative of Altice was not immediately available to comment.

The statement didn’t name any specific suppliers who are banned and didn’t set a date for when telecommunication companies in Portugal have to remove any equipment provided by now banned suppliers from their network. The decision was reported earlier by Portuguese business newspaper Jornal Economico.