Will Saudi Arabia accept yuan in payment for oil? Question of the century.

If Xi Jinping travels to Saudi Arabia this year, we might get an inkling of the answer.  China’s Xi Jinping Plans Visit to Saudi Arabia Amid Global Reshuffling - WSJ - November 7.

If the answer is yes, this paves the way for all OPEC nations to accept yuan in payment. China is already Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner; it buys 25 percent of the kingdom's oil. Saudi Arabia considers accepting yuan instead of dollars for oil sales, report says | Middle East Eye - March 15

Next question: Will Saudi Arabia join BRICS?  If the answer is yes, this paves the way for successful development of a new basket of currencies to rival the US dollar.   

BRICS Expansion: Five New Members in 2023? - Impakter - July 18 

Following Russia's announcement of Iran & Argentina's BRICS membership bids, the alliance president reveals that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, a NATO member, have the same plans.

 Just over two weeks after Russian state media announced that Iran and Argentina filed their official applications to join BRICS, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt began the process of making the same move, the alliance President Purnima Anand said on July 14.

“All these countries have shown their interest in joining and are preparing to apply for membership. I believe this is a good step, because expansion is always looked upon favorably, it will definitely bolster BRICS’ global influence,” Anand told Russian media. 

According to Russia Today, she pointed out that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt are “already engaged in the [BRICS membership] process,” saying she hopes that they will join soon but that she doubts they will all join simultaneously. 

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We'll have better insight about these momentous questions after Xi visits Saudi Arabia, if he visits, and after the BRICS 2023 summit, which is still in the planning stage. The fate of human civilization as we've known it for almost 80 years hangs on the answers.  

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