Can the yuan supplant the dollar?

Sergio Massa, Argentina's finance minister, landed in Beijing on Sunday. Its urgency is to negotiate a line of financing in yuan to replenish the country's reserve cushion. Plunged into a crisis and an endless inflationary spiral, the South American economy, already on a drip from the IMF, wants to avoid a new default. Buenos Aires has also pledged to pay Beijing for its imports in renminbi (RMB), the official name of the Chinese currency, "people's money" in Mandarin.

In recent weeks, announcements have multiplied, especially from major emerging countries, showing their willingness to trade more in yuan. The latest was Brazil and China to sign an agreement on March 29 aimed at boosting bilateral trade and facilitating investment. In December, it was Saudi Arabia, a historic ally of the United States, which signed a strategic partnership with the Middle Kingdom, providing for increased use of the renminbi to the detriment of the banknote...

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