[throwaway201606]

The language of global commerce and technology has not and has never been English

It is money.

Specifically, right now, petro-dollars. For a while before that, it was pounds

The writer is asking how much longer that will continue to be true that it is petro-dollars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_currency

[gegtik]

right, it was english, but then it became english