BEIJING, May 4. /TASS/. The US economy will face serious consequences if China refuses to use the US currency in international transactions, the China Daily newspaper wrote on Thursday.

"Once China abandons the dollar, the consequences for the US could be stark," reads an editorial on Argentina's move to trade with China in yuan.

The publication notes that Chinese exports to developing countries and a number of key market economies have already exceeded the volume of goods supplied by China to the United States, the European Union and Japan.

The authors of the article believe that a "new trade order is emerging, which will have a major impact on the nature of payments and international currency reserves."

"If the US were to "decouple" from China, other countries might choose to trade with China using the yuan as exchange currency, contributing to the de-dollarization trend and enhancing China's status in the global trade settlement system," they write.

The article says that in January-March, United States imports of consumer goods fell 20.6% year-on-year.

"The US' status in global trade will further weaken if its import of consumer goods continues to decline, which in turn will accelerate the global de-dollarization trend," the authors of the article stress.

In late April, Argentinean Economy Minister Sergio Massa said that his country would pay for imports from China in yuan rather than in dollars.