In the run-up to this year\u2019s \u2018two sessions\u2019 \u2013 the annual meetings of China\u2019s top legislature and political advisory body \u2013 high-level policymakers have reiterated the need to defuse financial risks and root out political corruption, two of President Xi Jinping\u2019s long-term priorities. In this series, we take stock of how those efforts have progressed, and what remains to be done.<\/p>\n
The iron ore trade between Australian miners and Chinese buyers has long followed a familiar, bruising pattern. Tense negotiations and hard-fought battles last for months over one figure, the price per tonne. But now, another question has emerged: which currency to use.<\/p>\n
In late 2025, reports surfaced that China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) had instructed traders to stop buying US dollar-denominated iron ore from the Australian mining and metals giant BHP \u2013 news that drew global attention.<\/p>\n
For Australian miners, it might have looked like only the latest chapter in a long-running commercial dispute. But for China, thousands of miles away, it could form part of a much broader strategy: advancing the yuan\u2019s rise on the global stage.<\/p>\n
That push has political backing at the highest level. In a 2024 speech, President Xi Jinping outlined his vision for China to become a financial \u201cpowerhouse\u201d or \u201csuperpower\u201d<\/a>, putting a \u201cstrong currency\u201d \u2013 one with global reserve status \u2013 at the top of six core priorities.The remarks were recently published in Qiushi<\/a>, the ruling Communist Party\u2019s leading theoretical journal, ahead of the annual \u201ctwo sessions\u201d, one of the country\u2019s most important political events.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough China is already a major financial country \u2026 it is not yet strong overall,\u201d Xi had said. \u201cBuilding a financial powerhouse requires long-term effort and sustained perseverance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the run-up to this year\u2019s \u2018two sessions\u2019 \u2013 the annual meetings of China\u2019s top legislature and political…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[174],"tags":[104627,79,381,169564,129967,179,18,8140,2421,4202,19,16243,17,46951,169565,2792,102830,384,2708,3997],"class_list":["post-364862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-bhp","tag-business","tag-china","tag-china-mineral-resources-group","tag-cross-border-interbank-payment-system","tag-economy","tag-eire","tag-euro","tag-fudan-university","tag-hong-kong","tag-ie","tag-international-monetary-fund","tag-ireland","tag-qiushi","tag-rui-meng","tag-shanghai","tag-simandou","tag-united-states","tag-us-dollar","tag-xi-jinping"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116162880037518198","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}