中文
By Jessica Durdu
It's 2025, and the global stage looks vastly different from a decade ago. Yet, some are still clinging to outdated tactics, believing threats of tariffs and sanctions can sway the world.
Recently sworn in U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariff on BRICS nations if they continue their de-dollarization efforts. "As a BRICS nation ... they'll have a 100 percent tariff if they so much as even think about doing what they thought, and therefore they'll give it up immediately," he said on his first day in office.
But as the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded at a regular press conference soon after that, BRICS isn't about confrontation – it's about fostering cooperation and shared prosperity. And the truth is, the world is no longer buying into one-currency dominance or sanction-fueled pressure.
Take Russia, for example. When it faced an avalanche of sanctions from the West in 2014 and 2022, many predicted an economic collapse. Instead, Russia built its own financial lifeboat. Its System for Transfer of Financial Messages, or SPFS, emerged as a homegrown alternative to SWIFT, and the Mir payment card, initiated in 2017, is doing the work of Visa and Mastercard. These moves insulated the Russian economy and laid the groundwork for deeper financial ties with non-Western allies like Türkiye, Kazakhstan, and even nations in the Middle East, without any dependence on Western-created or dominated systems.
The U.S. also restricted Türkiye's access to U.S. technology and equipment, from F-35 jets to armed unmanned aerial vehicles. The result is that Türkiye is now producing some of these equipment with its own resources and even started exporting to some Middle Eastern and African nations.
Russia and Türkiye's resilience is just the tip of the iceberg. Now more and more nations are seeking a more equitable world order. The G20 Summit in Brazil last year hosted a historic revolution with the African Union attending as a full member of the bloc for the first time. The G20 today is not just a club of several economically powerful countries but represents a new vision.
BRICS nations have also been rewriting the rules of global trade. They've turned to their own currencies for commerce, reducing their dependence on the U.S. dollar. Brazil and China now trade in their national currencies, a move mirrored by India and its regional partners. The BRICS New Development Bank has ramped up efforts to finance projects in local currencies in a fresh approach to international funding without relying on Western institutions. Additionally, efforts are underway to create BRICS's own blockchain-based payment system.
In fact, this isn't about making a political statement – it's about pragmatism. The world has watched the dollar-dominated system stumble repeatedly, with each crisis rippling across continents. From the 2008 financial meltdown to the pandemic-induced global recession, over-reliance on the dollar has proven to be a risky bet.
However, the goal isn't to eliminate the dollar. Doing so would disrupt global trade and create chaos in already volatile markets. The movement toward de-dollarization is about diversification – about ensuring the world isn't shackled to the whims of a single currency or the policies of one nation. If one currency fails, the world will still have enough global trade in other currencies to mitigate the crisis with minimum damage to economies worldwide.
And that's where the real shift lies. The era of one-currency dominance is giving way to a more balanced, multi-currency system. The internationalization of China's renminbi, now part of the IMF's Special Drawing Rights basket, is gaining momentum. Russia's Mir system continues to expand, with growing acceptance across Asia and beyond. Even countries outside BRICS are taking notice, experimenting with local currencies in trade to reduce the dependency on the dollar.
All these efforts show that threats and sanctions are no longer a reliable weapon. In fact, they're often counterproductive. The aggressive U.S. stance has only accelerated the very changes it hoped to prevent. Every sanction and tariff imposed has pushed nations closer to finding alternatives that make the global economy less about dominance and more about balance.
In 2025, it's clear that a one-currency world isn't just outdated – it's dangerous. A system where a single currency calls the shots has proven fragile, with crises hitting harder and lasting longer. Instead of clinging to the past, global leaders should focus on creating a system that prioritizes resilience and inclusivity.
Jessica Durdu, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a foreign affairs specialist and PhD candidate in international relations at China Foreign Affairs University.
