BEIJING (AFP) ― With deals from London to Singapore, China is seeking a greater role for its yuan currency in global markets to challenge the hegemony of the almighty dollar.

The most attention-grabbing reform planned for Shanghai’s new free trade zone is free convertibility of the yuan ― also known as the renminbi, or “people’s money” ― an unprecedented change which would allow greater use of the currency.

But no timetable has been specified, and a true contest between Mao Zedong, Communist China’s founding father whose face is emblazoned on most yuan notes, and Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill will be years in the making.

For decades the U.S. has benefited to the tune of trillions of dollars-worth of free credit from the greenback’s role as the default global reserve unit.

But as the global economy trembled before the prospect of a U.S. default last month, only averted when Washington reached a deal to raise its debt ceiling, China’s official Xinhua news agency called for a “de-Americanized” world.

It also urged the creation of a “new international reserve currency ... to replace the dominant U.S. dollar.”

For China ― which has the world’s biggest foreign exchange reserves ― the immediate appeal of a greater role for the yuan is lubricating trade flows and drawing foreign investment.

“Policymakers have made new efforts to increase the attraction of the renminbi in global markets,” said Capital Economics analyst Wang Qinwei.

He pointed to a deal with Britain in October allowing London-based institutions to invest directly in China ― avoiding an expensive detour via Hong Kong ― with an initial quota of 80 billion yuan ($12.9 billion).

A week later Beijing signed a similar 50 billion yuan agreement with Singapore.