Bangladesh, June 1 -- For decades, the global financial system has revolved around a single reality: the dominance of the US dollar and the infrastructure that supports it. International trade, cross-border payments, foreign reserves, and development finance have largely flowed through institutions and networks shaped by Western economic power. At the heart of this architecture sits SWIFT, the Belgium-based messaging system that facilitates trillions of dollars in international transactions every day.

Today, however, a quiet but potentially transformative shift is taking place across Africa. As China expands its economic footprint on the continent, it is no longer focusing solely on railways, highways, ports, and industrial parks. Beijin...