Fed Turmoil Is Threatening Dollar Supremacy Just as China Pushes the Yuan
by Rory Jones
via Wall Street Journal on January 17, 2026
A criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell fuels fears of political capture, denting confidence in U.S. institutions that underpin dollar dominance. Beijing meanwhile expands yuan use via CIPS, offshore “dim sum” bonds, gold warehousing, and lending to partners; roughly half of China’s cross-border transactions now use RMB. Capital controls still cap the yuan’s reach, but wider RMB assets and payments options chip at dollar ubiquity. Undermining Fed autonomy could accelerate diversification toward China’s currency ecosystem.
