Is China Playing Long Game Against Dollar in Middle East?

A security officer holds a cordon during the meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (5th R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on February 22, 2019. (Photo by HOW HWEE YOUNG / POOL / AFP)        (Photo credit should read HOW HWEE YOUNG/AFP via Getty Images)

Last month China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and France’s TotalEnergies conducted the first ever yuan-settled energy deal involving 65,000 tons of Emirati liquified natural gas, as Salim Essaid reports. Iraq and Saudi Arabia have also said they too are ready to deal in yuan, as Adam Lucente reports. Additionally, China and Brazil reached an accord this week to conduct their trade in yuan.

US diplomats in the region are increasingly focused China’s machinations, especially sensitive technology transfers, and quietly letting it be known that the United States does not want to see trade in yuan become a trend.

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