And there is a very big difference between being in effective control of all of the world's settlement systems and having a bifurcated settlement system with one part somewhat smaller but growing and the other larger but diminishing. China and Russia are still both growing and capable of high growth rates, not least because they are not hamstrung by ideologies supportive of 'austerity' and massive internal distributive inefficiencies. China is the second largest economy and growing at 7%+/year and Russia, on the basis of purchasing power parity, is the number five economy and could well again grow at several percent per year, while the nations with which China has signed bilateral trade agreements with settlement in Yuan include Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa for starters.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."