If you think China needs to dethrone U.S. dollar, you don't understand how it is waging global currency war

Renminbi and US dollar banknotes are captured in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, China, on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Every June, policymakers, regulators, bankers, investors, and financial executives gather in Shanghai for the Lujiazui Forum, China 's premier financial policy conference. If Davos is where global elites discuss the future of the world economy, Lujiazui is increasingly where Beijing signals how it intends to shape that future to serve its own interests. As Americans, despite all the ways that our current focus is divided, I believe that this year's forum deserves our attention. At this year's Lujiazui Forum , Chinese officials unveiled a series of measures designed to expand offshore renminbi (RMB) finance, deepen Shanghai's role as an international financial center, create new liquidity facilities for foreign central banks and sovereign investors, expand cross-border RMB trading, and further open portions of China's financial sector to international participation. It is true that we have heard much of this before and, for skeptics and many observers, it is understandable if there are doubts about its sincerity or achievability. Is China finally ready and serious about posing a challenge to the U.S. dollar? The answer is that China is unquestionably serious about challenging aspects of dollar dominance, but it is also the wrong question. …