https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/the-myth-of-the-inevitablerise-of-apetroyuan/2023/02/27/7d6cd58c-b65e-11ed-b0df-8ca14de679ad_story.html In diplomacy, what’s left unsaid often matters more than what’s said. After Chinese President Xi Jinping met the king of Saudi Arabia in December, both nations issued lengthy readouts extolling the burgeoning Saudi-Sino relationship in β€œall fields.” But in more than 5,000 words, the statements were silent on the much-hyped idea of using the yuan to price oil. The communiques said nothing at all about it. Zero. zilch. Nada. The inevitability of a petroyuan has become a popular take in the financial blogosphere: China flexing its muscles as an emerging power, elbowing one of the most visible and enduring signs of the 75-year US hegemony in the Middle East.If you believe in conspiracy theories, the introduction of a petroyuan, and the ensuing collapse of the petrodollar, would be a first domino, potentially weakening the whole US financial system. Very serious stuff. A redrawing of the global economic map. The backdrop to crisis and wars. Astonishing as it is, the narrative is an illusion.Ask quietly in government circles in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City or Doha about the petroyuan, and the response β€” even in the weeks following Xi’s visit to Riyadh β€” is unanimous: the petrodollar is here to stay. On a recent trip to the region, I didn’t hear a single official talking seriously about making preparations to introduce a new currency to the mix. The answers sound a lot like this: What’s in it for us? The greenback is freely convertible, the yuan isn’t; the dollar is liquid, the yuan isn’t. That’s the polite version; the more candid answers sounded even more emphatic about the absurdity of turning to a managed currency produced by an opaque and unpredictable financial machine.As in every conspiracy, there’s a grain of truth in the petroyuan tale, however. Xi did encourage the region to embrace the yuan for oil trade. But rather than pricing oil in yuan, as many had expected, Xi simply asked Middle East producers to accept payments in yuan.Middle East officials were lukewarm at best. In public, they are open to debate the merits, but not much more. β€œThere are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,” Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said last month. Thani Al Zeyoudi, the Emirati trade minister, said his country was prepared to discuss settling trade in different currencies, but only for β€œnon-oil” deals.In the region, the petroyuan is also seen as a door that, once opened, would invite followers. India may want a petrorupee, officials say; Japan, South Korea and Taiwan could seek similar arrangements. Although China is Saudi Arabia’s largest oil customer, taking roughly 26% of its oil exports, the combination of Japan and South Korea surpasses that share, reaching 28%. Add Taiwan, and the trio account for nearly one-third of Saudi petroleum exports. If you say β€œyes” to the petroyuan, how can you refuse, say, the petroyen and the petrowon? Going beyond settling oil trade invoices in yuan is even harder. The appetite among OPEC producers to price oil in yuan using a Chinese exchange is almost nil. Middle Eastern national oil companies closely watch how Beijing tries to manipulate local commodity prices such as iron ore, cotton, coal or grains every time prices rise above its pain threshold. Having spent 60 years building a formidable cartel, why would Middle East nations cede pricing power to China?Beyond Chinese capital controls, Middle East oil-producing nations have other reasons to stick to the dollar. A crucial one is that most of their currencies are pegged to the greenback, requiring a constant influx of dollars to support the arrangement. Those savings are held in dollar accounts, so Middle East countries have an interest in keeping the dollar strong. Petroyuan fans play down the importance of the currency pegs. They do have a point, as those pegs can be abandoned or, at least, tweaked. But I haven’t seen any signs that’s about to happen. The other argument in favor of the petroyuan is that the US has weaponized the dollar via oil sanctions on Venezuela, Russia and Iran, making an alternative payment not only likely but necessary. Perhaps, but this isn’t the first time the US has imposed oil sanctions, and the dollar hasn’t suffered. Libya demanded β€” and got β€” payment in European currencies in the 1990s, as did Iraq. Ironically, the only new petrocurrency to emerge of late has been the dirham of the United Arab Emirates. India is using it to settle some oil transactions with Russia, bypassing US sanctions. But for the past 25 years, the dirham has been pegged to the US dollar β€” another indication that the petrodollar remains the only petrocurrency that really matters.

Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. A former reporter for Bloomberg News and commodities editor at the Financial Times, he is coauthor of β€œThe World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources.”


λ²ˆμ—­ μ™Έκ΅μ—μ„œλŠ” 말보닀 λ§ν•˜μ§€ μ•ŠλŠ” 것이 더 μ€‘μš”ν•œ κ²½μš°κ°€ λ§ŽμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 12μ›” μ‹œμ§„ν•‘ 쀑ꡭ ꡭ가주석이 μ‚¬μš°λ””μ•„λΌλΉ„μ•„ ꡭ왕을 λ§Œλ‚œ ν›„ 양ꡭ은 "λͺ¨λ“  λΆ„μ•Ό"μ—μ„œ κΈ‰μ„±μž₯ν•˜κ³  μžˆλŠ” μ‚¬μš°λ””-쀑ꡭ 관계λ₯Ό μ°¬μ–‘ν•˜λŠ” μž₯문의 μ„±λͺ…을 λ°œν‘œν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ·ΈλŸ¬λ‚˜ 5,000단어가 λ„˜λŠ” μ„±λͺ…μ„œμ—μ„œ μœ„μ•ˆν™”λ₯Ό μ„μœ  가격에 μ‚¬μš©ν•œλ‹€λŠ” κ³Όμž₯된 아이디어에 λŒ€ν•΄μ„œλŠ” μΉ¨λ¬΅ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 곡동성λͺ…μ—λŠ” 이에 λŒ€ν•œ 언급이 μ „ν˜€ μ—†μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ „ν˜€μš” 페트둜 μœ„μ•ˆν™”μ˜ λΆˆκ°€ν”Όμ„±μ€ 금육 λΈ”λ‘œκ³ μŠ€ν”Όμ–΄μ—μ„œ 인기 μžˆλŠ” μ£Όμž₯이 λ˜μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€: 쀑ꡭ이 μ‹ ν₯ κ°•κ΅­μœΌλ‘œμ„œ κ·Όμœ‘μ„ ꡬ뢀리고 μ€‘λ™μ—μ„œ 75 λ…„ λ™μ•ˆ 미ꡭ의 패ꢌ의 κ°€μž₯ λˆˆμ— 띄고 지속적인 μ§•ν›„ 쀑 ν•˜λ‚˜λ₯Ό νŒ”κΏˆμΉ˜λ‘œ ꡬ뢀리고 μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 음λͺ¨λ‘ μ„ λ―ΏλŠ”λ‹€λ©΄ 페트둜 μœ„μ•ˆμ˜ λ„μž…κ³Ό 그에 λ”°λ₯Έ 페트둜 λ‹¬λŸ¬μ˜ λΆ•κ΄΄λŠ” 잠재적으둜 전체 λ―Έκ΅­ 금육 μ‹œμŠ€ν…œμ„ μ•½ν™”μ‹œν‚€λŠ” 첫 번째 도미노가 될 κ²ƒμž…λ‹ˆλ‹€. 맀우 μ‹¬κ°ν•œ λ¬Έμ œμž…λ‹ˆλ‹€. 세계 경제 지도가 λ‹€μ‹œ κ·Έλ €μ§€κ³  μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μœ„κΈ°μ™€ μ „μŸμ˜ λ°°κ²½. λ¦¬μ•Όλ“œ, μ•„λΆ€λ‹€λΉ„, μΏ μ›¨μ΄νŠΈμ‹œν‹°, λ„ν•˜μ˜ μ •λΆ€ κ΄€κ³„μžλ“€μ—κ²Œ 쑰용히 νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œλ‹¬λŸ¬μ— λŒ€ν•΄ 물어보면 μ‹œ μ£Όμ„μ˜ λ¦¬μ•Όλ“œ λ°©λ¬Έ 이후 λͺ‡ μ£Ό λ™μ•ˆμ—λ„ 만μž₯일치둜 νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œλ‹¬λŸ¬λŠ” 계속 μœ μ§€λ  κ²ƒμ΄λΌλŠ” 응닡이 λŒμ•„μ˜΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 졜근 이 지역을 λ°©λ¬Έν–ˆμ„ λ•Œ μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ 톡화λ₯Ό λ„μž…ν•˜κΈ° μœ„ν•œ 쀀비에 λŒ€ν•΄ μ§„μ§€ν•˜κ²Œ μ΄μ•ΌκΈ°ν•˜λŠ” 곡무원을 ν•œ λͺ…도 λ“£μ§€ λͺ»ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. λŒ€λ‹΅μ€ λŒ€μ²΄λ‘œ 이런 μ‹μ΄μ—ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€: μš°λ¦¬μ—κ²Œ μ–΄λ–€ 이득이 μžˆμ„κΉŒμš”? λ‹¬λŸ¬λŠ” 자유둭게 ν™˜μ „ν•  수 μžˆμ§€λ§Œ μœ„μ•ˆν™”λŠ” κ·Έλ ‡μ§€ μ•Šκ³ , λ‹¬λŸ¬λŠ” μœ λ™μ μ΄μ§€λ§Œ μœ„μ•ˆν™”λŠ” κ·Έλ ‡μ§€ μ•Šλ‹€λŠ” 것이죠. μ’€ 더 μ†”μ§ν•œ 닡변은 뢈투λͺ…ν•˜κ³  μ˜ˆμΈ‘ν•  수 μ—†λŠ” 금육 기계에 μ˜ν•΄ μƒμ‚°λ˜λŠ” 관리 톡화에 μ˜μ‘΄ν•˜λŠ” κ²ƒμ˜ 뢀쑰리함을 λ”μš± κ°•μ‘°ν•˜λŠ” κ²ƒμ²˜λŸΌ λ“€λ ΈμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ·ΈλŸ¬λ‚˜ λͺ¨λ“  음λͺ¨κ°€ 그렇듯이 페트둜 μœ„μ•ˆν™” μ΄μ•ΌκΈ°μ—λŠ” μ§„μ‹€μ˜ ν•œ μ•Œμ΄ λ“€μ–΄ μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ‹œ 주석은 μ„μœ  무역에 μœ„μ•ˆν™”λ₯Ό λ„μž…ν•˜λ„λ‘ μž₯λ €ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ·ΈλŸ¬λ‚˜ λ§Žμ€ μ‚¬λžŒλ“€μ΄ μ˜ˆμƒν–ˆλ˜ κ²ƒμ²˜λŸΌ μ‹œ 주석은 μ„μœ  가격을 μœ„μ•ˆν™”λ‘œ μ±…μ •ν•˜λŠ” λŒ€μ‹  쀑동 μ‚°μœ κ΅­λ“€μ—κ²Œ μœ„μ•ˆν™”λ‘œ κ²°μ œν•΄ 달라고 μš”μ²­ν–ˆκ³ , 쀑동 관리듀은 기껏해야 미온적인 νƒœλ„λ₯Ό μ·¨ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ³΅κ°œμ μœΌλ‘œλŠ” μž₯점에 λŒ€ν•΄ ν† λ‘ ν•  μš©μ˜κ°€ μžˆμ§€λ§Œ κ·Έ 이상은 μ•„λ‹™λ‹ˆλ‹€. λͺ¨ν•˜λ©”λ“œ μ•Œμžλ‹¨ μ‚¬μš°λ”” 재무μž₯관은 μ§€λ‚œλ‹¬ "λ―Έκ΅­ λ‹¬λŸ¬λ“  μœ λ‘œν™”λ“  μ‚¬μš°λ”” 리얄이든 무역 결제 방식을 λ…Όμ˜ν•˜λŠ” 데 μ•„λ¬΄λŸ° λ¬Έμ œκ°€ μ—†λ‹€"κ³  λ§ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ—λ―Έλ¦¬νŠΈ 무역뢀 μž₯관인 νƒ€λ‹ˆ μ•Œ μ œμœ λ””λŠ” 자ꡭ이 λ‹€λ₯Έ ν†΅ν™”λ‘œ 무역을 κ²°μ œν•˜λŠ” λ°©μ•ˆμ„ λ…Όμ˜ν•  μ€€λΉ„κ°€ λ˜μ–΄ μžˆμ§€λ§Œ μ΄λŠ” 'λΉ„μ„μœ ' κ±°λž˜μ— ν•œν•˜λ©°, νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œλ£¨ν”ΌλŠ” 이 μ§€μ—­μ—μ„œ 일단 개방되면 μΆ”μ’…μžλ“€μ„ λŒμ–΄λ“€μΌ 수 μžˆλŠ” 문으둜 여겨지고 μžˆλ‹€κ³  λ§ν–ˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 관리듀은 인도가 νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œλ£¨ν”Όλ₯Ό 원할 수 있으며 일본, ν•œκ΅­, λŒ€λ§Œλ„ λΉ„μŠ·ν•œ ν˜‘μ •μ„ λͺ¨μƒ‰ν•  수 μžˆλ‹€κ³  λ§ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. 쀑ꡭ은 μ‚¬μš°λ””μ•„λΌλΉ„μ•„μ˜ μ΅œλŒ€ μ„μœ  고객으둜 μ„μœ  수좜의 μ•½ 26%λ₯Ό μ°¨μ§€ν•˜μ§€λ§Œ, 일본과 ν•œκ΅­μ„ ν•©μΉ˜λ©΄ κ·Έ 비쀑이 28%에 λ‹¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. 여기에 λŒ€λ§Œμ„ λ”ν•˜λ©΄ 이 μ„Έ λ‚˜λΌκ°€ μ‚¬μš°λ”” μ„μœ  수좜의 거의 3λΆ„μ˜ 1을 μ°¨μ§€ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œμ—”κ³Ό νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œμ›μ˜ μ œμ•ˆμ— "예슀"라고 ν•˜λ©΄ μ–΄λ–»κ²Œ κ±°μ ˆν•  수 μžˆμ„κΉŒμš”? μ„μœ  무역 솑μž₯을 μœ„μ•ˆν™”λ‘œ κ²°μ œν•˜λŠ” 것 μ΄μƒμœΌλ‘œ λ‚˜μ•„κ°€λŠ” 것은 훨씬 더 μ–΄λ ΅μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 쀑ꡭ κ±°λž˜μ†Œλ₯Ό 톡해 μœ„μ•ˆν™”λ‘œ μ„μœ  가격을 μ±…μ •ν•˜λ €λŠ” OPEC μ‚°μœ κ΅­λ“€μ€ 거의 μ—†μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. 쀑동 ꡭ영 μ„μœ  νšŒμ‚¬λ“€μ€ 철광석, λ©΄ν™”, 석탄, 곑물 λ“± ν˜„μ§€ μ›μžμž¬ 가격이 고톡 μž„κ³„μΉ˜ μ΄μƒμœΌλ‘œ μƒμŠΉν•  λ•Œλ§ˆλ‹€ 쀑ꡭ이 μ–΄λ–»κ²Œ 가격을 μ‘°μž‘ν•˜λ €κ³  ν•˜λŠ”μ§€ λ©΄λ°€νžˆ μ£Όμ‹œν•˜κ³  μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€.

60λ…„ λ™μ•ˆ κ°•λ ₯ν•œ μΉ΄λ₯΄ν…”을 κ΅¬μΆ•ν•œ 쀑동 ꡭ가듀이 μ™œ 쀑ꡭ에 가격 κ²°μ •κΆŒμ„ λ„˜κ²¨μ€„κΉŒμš”? μ€‘κ΅­μ˜ 자본 ν†΅μ œ 외에도 쀑동 μ‚°μœ κ΅­λ“€μ΄ μ—¬μ „νžˆ λ‹¬λŸ¬ν™”λ₯Ό κ³ μˆ˜ν•˜λŠ” λ°μ—λŠ” λ‹€λ₯Έ μ΄μœ κ°€ μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ°€μž₯ μ€‘μš”ν•œ μ΄μœ λŠ” λŒ€λΆ€λΆ„μ˜ 톡화가 λ‹¬λŸ¬μ— κ³ μ •λ˜μ–΄ 있기 λ•Œλ¬Έμ— 이λ₯Ό μœ μ§€ν•˜κΈ° μœ„ν•΄ 지속적인 λ‹¬λŸ¬ μœ μž…μ΄ ν•„μš”ν•˜λ‹€λŠ” μ μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ΄λŸ¬ν•œ 저좕은 λ‹¬λŸ¬ κ³„μ’Œμ— λ³΄κ΄€λ˜κΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ— 쀑동 ꡭ가듀은 λ‹¬λŸ¬ κ°•μ„Έ μœ μ§€μ— 관심이 μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œν™” μ§€μ§€μžλ“€μ€ 톡화 페그의 μ€‘μš”μ„±μ„ κ°•μ‘°ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€. νŽ˜κ·Έμ œλŠ” λ²„λ €μ§€κ±°λ‚˜ μ΅œμ†Œν•œ 쑰정될 수 있기 λ•Œλ¬Έμ— 일리가 μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. ν•˜μ§€λ§Œ 그런 일이 일어날 쑰짐은 아직 보이지 μ•ŠμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œμœ„μ•ˆμ„ μ§€μ§€ν•˜λŠ” 또 λ‹€λ₯Έ μ£Όμž₯은 미ꡭ이 λ² λ„€μˆ˜μ—˜λΌ, λŸ¬μ‹œμ•„, μ΄λž€μ— λŒ€ν•œ μ„μœ  제재λ₯Ό 톡해 λ‹¬λŸ¬λ₯Ό λ¬΄κΈ°ν™”ν–ˆκΈ° λ•Œλ¬Έμ— λŒ€μ²΄ 결제 μˆ˜λ‹¨μ΄ ν•„μš”ν•  뿐만 μ•„λ‹ˆλΌ κ°€λŠ₯성이 λ†’λ‹€λŠ” κ²ƒμž…λ‹ˆλ‹€. 그럴 μˆ˜λ„ μžˆμ§€λ§Œ 미ꡭ이 μ„μœ  제재λ₯Ό κ°€ν•œ 것은 이번이 처음이 μ•„λ‹ˆλ©° λ‹¬λŸ¬κ°€ 타격을 μž…μ§€ μ•Šμ•˜μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. λ¦¬λΉ„μ•„λŠ” 1990λ…„λŒ€μ— 이라크와 λ§ˆμ°¬κ°€μ§€λ‘œ 유럽 ν†΅ν™”λ‘œ μ§€λΆˆμ„ μš”κ΅¬ν–ˆκ³ , μ‹€μ œλ‘œ λ°›μ•˜μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. μ•„μ΄λŸ¬λ‹ˆν•˜κ²Œλ„ μ΅œκ·Όμ— λ“±μž₯ν•œ μœ μΌν•œ μƒˆλ‘œμš΄ μ„μœ  ν†΅ν™”λŠ” μ•„λžμ—λ―Έλ¦¬νŠΈμ˜ λ””λ₯΄ν•¨μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€. μΈλ„λŠ” 미ꡭ의 제재λ₯Ό μš°νšŒν•˜μ—¬ λŸ¬μ‹œμ•„μ™€μ˜ 일뢀 μ„μœ  거래λ₯Ό κ²°μ œν•˜λŠ” 데 λ””λžŒμ„ μ‚¬μš©ν•˜κ³  μžˆμŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€. κ·ΈλŸ¬λ‚˜ μ§€λ‚œ 25λ…„ λ™μ•ˆ λ””λžŒμ€ λ―Έκ΅­ λ‹¬λŸ¬μ— κ³ μ •λ˜μ–΄ μžˆμ—ˆμœΌλ©°, μ΄λŠ” νŽ˜νŠΈλ‘œλ‹¬λŸ¬κ°€ μ—¬μ „νžˆ μ€‘μš”ν•œ μœ μΌν•œ μ„μœ  ν†΅ν™”λΌλŠ” 또 λ‹€λ₯Έ μ¦κ±°μž…λ‹ˆλ‹€. ν•˜λΉ„μ—λ₯΄ λΈ”λΌμŠ€λŠ” μ—λ„ˆμ§€μ™€ μ›μžμž¬λ₯Ό λ‹€λ£¨λŠ” 블룸버그 μ˜€ν”Όλ‹ˆμ–Έ μΉΌλŸΌλ‹ˆμŠ€νŠΈμž…λ‹ˆλ‹€. 블룸버그 λ‰΄μŠ€μ˜ μ „ 기자이자 νŒŒμ΄λ‚Έμ…œ νƒ€μž„μ¦ˆμ˜ μ›μžμž¬ νŽΈμ§‘μžμ˜€λ˜ κ·ΈλŠ” "The World for Sale"의 곡동 μ €μžμž…λ‹ˆλ‹€: 돈, ꢌλ ₯, 그리고 μ§€κ΅¬μ˜ μžμ›μ„ λ¬Όλ¬Όκ΅ν™˜ν•˜λŠ” 상인듀"의 μ €μžμ΄κΈ°λ„ ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€.