China in plot with US allies to topple dollar in oil trades: report

China is spearheading a secret plan along with some of the strongest allies of the US, that may include the oil-rich Gulf States, Japan and France, as well as Russia, to overthrow the US dollar as the prime currency for oil tades.

Robert Fisk, the Middle East correspondent of The Independent who has been awarded the British Press Awards International Journalist of the Year seven times, today reported in a bylined article titled, "The demise of the dollar" that Gulf States including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar and Japan, France, China and Russia plan to end dollar dealings for oil and move to a basket of currencies that would include the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency, over a period of nine years.

According to Fisk's report, the finance ministers and central bank governors of Russia, China, Japan and Brazil have held secret talks to work out a plan to ensure that oil is no longer priced and traded in US dollars.

The report said the plans were confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf States and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, which helps explain the sudden spurt in gold prices, where US gold futures hit a six-month high of $1,000 last month.

The paper said quoring Chinese banking sources that the transitional currency in the move away from dollars may well be gold. An indication of the huge amounts involved can be gained from the wealth of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar who together hold an estimated $2.1 trillion in dollar reserves.

While the US government is reported to be aware of the meetings, Washington is yet to confirm the details of the talks.

When asked by reporters on the sidelines of IMF meetings in Istanbul today, both Saudi Arabia's central bank chief Muhammad al-Jasser and Russia's deputy finance minister Dmitry Pankin denied the talks.