This is largely...

...a headline-grabber, but it does illustrate the opening salvos in the war for dominion over Africa. The article also does not mention the "push" part of the equation in that wealthy Chinese are scouring the globe for jurisdictions to park their wealth (and possibly their physical location).

The administration is likely thinking very carefully how to secure the antipodes. Its where the action is. However, the U.S. must watch for over-reach. The costs of supplying information (via dollar trades) must not exceed the benefit of the dollar as a secure asset. That simple statement, more than anything, portends the future of the Dollar as hegemonic reserve currency. Recall that we import information and export security.

Of course (cough) having the renminbi as the currency is (cough) good for bilateral trades involving (cough cougharms) "military equipment".

South Africa will this week take some initial steps to unseat the US dollar as the preferred worldwide currency for trade and investment in emerging economies.

Thus, the nation is expected to become party to endorsing the Chinese currency, the renminbi, as the currency of trade in emerging markets.

This means getting a renminbi-denominated bank account, in addition to a dollar account, could be an advantage for African businesses that seek to do business in the emerging markets.

The move is set to challenge the supremacy of the US dollar. This, experts say, is the latest salvo in the greatest worldwide currency war since the 1930s.