China’s use of the renminbi in cross-border transactions has reached record highs this year, after U.S. sanctions limited Russia's ability to transact in dollars following its invasion of Ukraine.

Globally the renminbi is still a distant second to the dollar for trade financing and further increases in its share of global trade finance may be limited by the west's reluctance to trade using renminbi.

“I think it’s very unlikely that we’ll see China’s trade with the United States, with the European Union, moving into Chinese currency,” says Daniel McDowell, professor of political science. 

China “is not seeking to topple the dollar’s global dominance”, says McDowell. “That comes with a lot of responsibility and accepting certain vulnerabilities...China’s motives here are primarily about autonomy and resilience.”

Read more in the Financial Times article, “China’s international use of renminbi surges to record highs.”