Recently, the global currency payment market has been experiencing a series of "earthquakes", with the US dollar and the euro, the "troubled brothers", both falling.
As soon as the data came out, the global financial circle was in an uproar.
It is important to note that the US dollar has always been sitting on the throne, relying on its status as the "world currency", it has been able to manipulate the global economy and has been ruthless in its monetary policies.
The euro, as a representative of the old capitalist powers, has also had a tough time in recent years, severely weakened by the US's operations.
As the US dollar and the euro are on the decline, many people have started to look to the East, wondering if the renminbi will be the rising "new star"?
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As the saying goes, fortune's wheel turns.
The once invincible US dollar is now also feeling the chill of "winter is coming".
In recent years, the global economy has been struggling to grow, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the chaos in the Middle East, have only made things worse, with the shadow of a global economic recession lingering.
The US, with its numerous printing presses, has been printing money crazily in recent years, causing severe domestic inflation, soaring prices, and widespread complaints from the public.
In order to save itself, the Federal Reserve has used the "interest rate hike" as a big move, trying to alleviate its own economic pressure by attracting global capital backflow.
However, although this move can temporarily alleviate the urgent needs of the US, it has left other countries in a difficult situation.
To cope with capital outflow, many countries have been forced to follow the US in raising interest rates, which undoubtedly has increased the risk of a global economic recession.
Data can best illustrate the problem.
The latest data shows that the global payment share of the US dollar has fallen to 47.08%, and the euro has fallen even lower to 22.72%.
This is undoubtedly a blow to the US dollar and the euro, which are used to being the "big brother".
In stark contrast, the emerging market currencies represented by the renminbi have shown great resilience in this wave of global currency payment pattern changes, and even against the trend, showing a sense of "heroes emerge in troubled times".
To understand why the US dollar can sit on the throne of the "world currency", it has to be traced back to after World War II.
At that time, as a victorious country, the US, with unprecedented strength, led the establishment of the "Bretton Woods system" centered on the US dollar.
Under this system, the US dollar was pegged to gold, and the currencies of other countries were pegged to the US dollar.
The US dollar thus "naturally" became the world's main settlement currency and reserve currency, and started its era of "hegemony".
However, things change in thirty years.
With the multipolar development of the world economic pattern, the US's dominant position has been broken.
Especially in recent years, the US has abused the hegemony of the US dollar, and has often used financial sanctions as a big stick, which has caused many countries to be disgusted and vigilant.
The call for "de-dollarization" is getting higher and higher, and more and more countries have started to reduce their holdings of US debt, looking for alternative settlement currencies, trying to get rid of their dependence on the US dollar.
For example, China has significantly reduced its holdings of US debt in the past few years, from a peak of 1.3 trillion US dollars to 770.7 billion US dollars, which is not a small drop.
What's more worrying is that the US economy itself is also facing problems.
Over the years, the US has been pursuing a fiscal policy of "eating the morning food in the evening", leading to high fiscal deficits and a snowballing increase in the scale of government debt, which has long exceeded the astronomical figure of 35 trillion US dollars.
This approach of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" will eventually pay a price.
Now, the US economy is struggling to grow, inflation is high, and the "credit" of the US dollar is being continuously overdrawn.
How long the US dollar can remain "strong" is a big question mark.
If the US dollar is the "hegemon" that is on the decline, then the euro is "when it rains, it pours", facing internal and external troubles, and life is quite difficult.
Within the euro zone, there have always been difficult problems such as unbalanced economic development and debt crises.
In addition, in recent years, populism and trade protectionism have been on the rise, and contradictions within the EU have been continuously intensifying.
Brexit has given the EU a heavy blow, and the status of the euro has also been shaken.
What's worse, after the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the EU was tied to the "war chariot" of the US and imposed multiple rounds of economic sanctions on Russia.
As a result, the sanctions did not play a big role, but they have trapped themselves.
Energy prices soared, inflation soared, and economic development has been hit hard.
In order to support Ukraine, EU countries have to tighten their belts and provide huge economic aid.
According to statistics, EU countries have provided more than 78 billion euros in aid to Ukraine, which is not a small amount for many EU countries.
Under internal and external difficulties, the exchange rate of the euro has also taken a "roller coaster", with violent fluctuations, and the confidence of more and more investors in the euro has begun to waver, which undoubtedly has accelerated the decline of the euro.
"Even a dead camel is bigger than a horse".
Although the US dollar and the euro still occupy the dominant position in the global currency payment market, "flowers do not bloom for a hundred days".
With the strengthening of the trend of world multipolarity and the rise of emerging economies, the shaking of the US dollar hegemony and the status of the euro may only be a matter of time.
Just as the US dollar and the euro are mired in the mud, the renminbi has shown strong resilience and vitality on the international stage.
The latest data shows that the renminbi payment share has risen to 4.69%, surpassing the yen for nine consecutive months, and has been firmly in the fourth place globally.
The rise of the renminbi is not accidental, but the result of multiple factors such as the strengthening of China's economic strength, the development of foreign trade, and the promotion of the "Belt and Road" initiative.
As an economy with a population of 1.4 billion and a GDP ranking second in the world, the continuous growth of China's economy has provided strong support for the internationalization of the renminbi.
In addition, China is the world's largest goods trading country and has a huge amount of foreign exchange reserves, all of which have created favorable conditions for the use of the renminbi in international trade and investment.
It is worth mentioning that the promotion of China's "Belt and Road" initiative has opened up new space for the internationalization of the renminbi.
Most of the countries along the "Belt and Road" are emerging economies, which have a strong demand for infrastructure construction and funds, and China has advantages in these fields, so the renminbi has gained more opportunities to "go out".
At present, more and more countries are choosing the renminbi as the settlement currency, and the financial products priced in renminbi are becoming more and more abundant, and the influence of the renminbi in the international monetary system is increasing day by day.
Of course, the internationalization of the renminbi also faces some challenges.
For example, the degree of internationalization of the renminbi is not high enough, and the trading volume and scope of the renminbi in the international financial market still need to be further expanded; in addition, the exchange rate formation mechanism of the renminbi still needs to be improved, and the degree of free conversion of the renminbi still needs to be improved.
However, on the whole, the internationalization of the renminbi is the trend of the times, and the future of the renminbi is full of hope.
The world today is undergoing a major change that has not been seen in a hundred years.
Against the background of the countercurrent of economic globalization and the intensification of geopolitical risks, the international monetary system is undergoing profound changes.
The hegemony of the US dollar is being challenged, the status of the euro is unstable, and the rise of emerging market currencies is leading the world towards a multipolar monetary system.
For China, the internationalization of the renminbi is both an opportunity and a challenge.
We must seize the opportunity, follow the trend, further improve the exchange rate formation mechanism of the renminbi, accelerate the construction of the renminbi financial market, and promote the renminbi to play a greater role in international trade, investment, settlement and other fields.
At the same time, we must also face the challenges, actively participate in the formulation of international financial rules, maintain national financial security, and promote the construction of a more fair, just and reasonable international monetary system.
I believe that in the near future, the renminbi will play a more important role on the international stage and make a greater contribution to the stability and development of the world economy.