How China is building a world without the dollar

FEW people fully understand the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from China. The BRI is China's huge global development strategy, spanning more than 150 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. It offers roads and railways, as well as finance, supply chains, legal agreements and trade routes.

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I travelled from Beijing to Kunming and studied the people, the culture and the economy and what was about to happen, and it has come to fruition.

While the West has used the dollar to punish and persuade in the past, China has been quietly laying the groundwork for a world where the dollar is no longer needed by them.

International development used to always go through Western institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. They lent in dollars and, more often than not, asked for something in return - deregulation, privatisation and alignment with Washington's economic vision.

China does it differently. They offer funding in the yuan, or in the borrower's local currency. These are arranged through state-linked institutions like the China Development Bank or Exim Bank, often with far fewer conditions.

That alone breaks the mould away from the dollar. Countries no longer have to chase or hoard dollars to fund infrastructure. They also don’t need to accept harsh policy conditions which might clash with their own development goals.

To really cement this, China has signed more than 40 currency swap agreements with central banks around the world. Think of it as a mutual back-up: if a country needs yuan to repay a loan or import Chinese equipment, it can get it directly through its own central bank.