In the latest move to bypass Western-dominated financial systems and step up the internationalisation of the yuan, China is linking its retail payment networks with the United Arab Emirates. Users will soon be able to use domestic mobile apps to scan QR codes and make payments in either country, under a recent agreement between state-owned Bank of China (BOC), UnionPay International, and the UAE central bank’s subsidiary Al Etihad Payments. “The partnership would help expand the scope of...