The present article relies on an original institutional economics perspective of the international monetary system to argue that contrary to what is generally maintained in international relations literature, China’s effort to internationalize the renminbi has not stalled after its inclusion in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Special Drawing Rights in 2015. This argument rests upon on the evaluation of the global petroleum market as a possible reinforcement of China’s establishment of the renminbi as an international unit of account and means of payment through its participation in both fossil and renewable energy markets. To that end, we analyze China’s energy-yuan strategy aimed at both fostering renminbi internationalization and securing energy provision.