Washington, May 8 (IANS) A bipartisan group of US senators has reintroduced a resolution backing the US dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, warning that China is accelerating efforts to build an alternative global financial system centred around the yuan.
The resolution, introduced by Ted Budd and Jeanne Shaheen, says Beijing’s push to internationalise the yuan poses economic and national security risks to the United States and its allies.
“Continued cooperation and sustained success in international trade rely on the US dollar maintaining its status as the global reserve currency,” Budd said in a statement released with the resolution.
“For years, the PRC has sought to expand its global financial influence, targeting the economic and national security of the United States and our partners,” he said.
Budd warned that allowing China “to drive global currency flows and create alternative financial infrastructure would be a policy failure that could fragment the world economy, threatening the continued growth of free markets, especially in developing nations.”
“The US dollar must preserve its internationally stabilising and prosperity-enabling role,” he added.
Shaheen said the dollar’s dominance was tied directly to American economic strength and global influence.
“Maintaining the United States dollar as the global reserve currency is important not only for the long-term stability and prosperity of the American economy, but it is also crucial for maintaining America’s national security,” she said.
“As China continues to attempt to undermine the global currency system, this Senate resolution sends a bipartisan message that the United States must prioritise maintaining the US dollar as the global reserve currency,” Shaheen said.
She also appeared to criticise recent US economic turbulence.
“After America’s standing as a reliable economic partner has been shaken by haphazard tariff rollouts and self-imposed volatility, it is imperative that Congress demonstrate the United States’ willingness to remain a lynchpin in the global financial system,” she said.
The resolution outlines what senators described as China’s long-term campaign to weaken dollar dominance and expand Beijing’s leverage across the developing world.
It cites International Monetary Fund data showing the dollar accounted for about 71 per cent of global currency reserves in 1999, but had declined to 56.82 per cent by the third quarter of 2025. The Chinese yuan accounted for 1.93 per cent during the same period.
The measure also accuses China of maintaining a “non-market, fixed exchange rate” that keeps the yuan undervalued and contributes to trade imbalances.
Lawmakers further pointed to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which they said has increased dependence on Chinese capital in developing countries. The resolution noted that Beijing has invested more than $1 trillion globally under the initiative since 2013.
The senators also highlighted China’s push into digital currency systems and cross-border payment infrastructure. The resolution says more than 1,700 banks have subscribed to China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, or CIPS, which it describes as an alternative to the SWIFT financial messaging system.
The measure warns that China’s efforts to build a parallel financial system could weaken Western leverage in the event of a crisis involving Taiwan or disruptions in Indo-Pacific shipping lanes.
The resolution says the United States should strengthen economic ties with critical regions and work with allies to promote growth and stability in developing countries while countering Beijing’s financial influence.
--IANS
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