Event description:

The US dollar has been the dominant international currency for trade since the end of the World War 2. As the international reserve currency, the US can impose sanctions on any other countries. Recently, a global de-dollarization campaign seems to be gaining momentum, driven by geopolitical risks (as seen in U.S. decision to freeze Russia’s foreign currency reserves) and changing economic dynamics. More and more countries, from Brazil, Argentina to some South Asian countries, are calling for or starting to use other currencies besides the US dollar in trade. What are the political and economic implications of this new development? Does it suggest the beginning of the collapse of the US dollar hegemony, as some have warned or hailed? The Oxford Global Society invites experts/observers from around the world to discuss and examine this significant development and its implications.

Chair/moderator:

Dr Christopher Decker (Fellow at Oxford University, Oxford Global Society Fellow)

Speakers:

Prof Robert Wade: Professor of Global Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was awarded Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought in 2008. He is a founding member of the Financial Times’s “Economists’ Forum” and was described as “50 of the world’s most influential economists”.

Dr Ming Zhang : Senior Fellow and the Deputy Director of Institute of Finance & Banking (IFB) under Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS). His research covers international finance and macroeconomics, including RMB’s internationalization. His other working experience includes Vice Mayor of Mianyang, Sichuan Province (2021-2022) and Chief Economist of Ping An Securities Co., Ltd. (2017-2020). Before joining CASS, he worked as an auditor in KPMG, and a PE fund manager in Asset Managers Group (Japan).

Ms Sonia Ruseler: Her career in journalism spanned anchoring for CNN World News from Washington, after reporting and presenting  for ITN from London and Tokyo. An Argentine national, educated in Cambridge University, her focus since 2001 is Latin America, leading multi-country communications campaigns, consulting for the World Bank, and advising Fortune 500 companies and politicians.