Published on 6/18/2026
The boom in Chinese trade with Africa and the lifting of customs duties on most countries on the continent are expected to boost the use of the yuan, supporting Beijing’s efforts to find alternatives to Western financing.
Customs data showed that trade between China and Africa rose by about 18% last year, and trade flows and settlement operations denominated in the yuan are expected to increase in light of the reduction in customs duties on imports from 53 countries last May.
An International Monetary Fund research concluded that the use of the yuan rises with the increase in the volume of trade with China, which announced new measures yesterday, Wednesday, to enhance the use of its currency globally.
Chinese ports are receiving more African goods since the removal of customs duties, which boosts demand for settling transactions between the yuan and local African currencies.
Although there is little reliable data on the use of the yuan in Africa, trade with China is growing thanks to new payment platforms and some countries shifting their debt to less expensive currencies.
Standard Chartered Kenya CEO Birjo Sanjrajka said transactions in the yuan were growing, adding that he saw little indication yet that the Chinese currency would replace the dollar. He continued, “We consider it a complement to the dollar.”
South Africa’s Standard Bank became the first African commercial bank to connect to China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in November, handling $500 million worth of transactions in the first four months.
Ives Yang, Sales Director of the Transaction Banking Department at Standard Bank CIB, said: “The transactions we are seeing are primarily driven by import and export activities between China and Africa… We are working to expand the scope of the CIBS system to include more countries.”
Beijing seeks to support African exports by canceling customs duties, and Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said, “Under the circumstances…
“Where unilateralism and protectionism pose difficulties and challenges for African countries, China benefits from the advantages of its huge market.”
Trade flows
Bankers say the shift to the yuan is a reflection of growing trade, rather than a direct challenge to the dollar.
Sangrajka said Standard Chartered Kenya has begun issuing yuan-denominated letters of credit, allowing Kenyan clients to get discounts by avoiding dollar conversion costs.
China and other countries, including Russia, are working to strengthen payment channels that go beyond the dollar, which prompted US President Donald Trump to warn against abandoning his country’s currency.
“Part of the problems we are seeing around the world now is how to reduce the dominance of the dollar,” said Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise in Nigeria.
He added, “Beijing is working to encourage the settlement of transactions in yuan,” and continued, “When you issue to them, you are paid in yuan.”
Exchange risk
The African Export-Import Bank, which signed an agreement last year to join the CEBS system, says trade with China represents 20% of the continent’s foreign trade, up from 5% two decades ago. Others also see promising opportunities.
Ecobank, which is based in Togo and operates in 34 African countries, and the Bank of China are working to launch a settlement service between the yuan and local currencies this year.
“China is building its own payment and settlement networks, which could make these operations almost instantaneous,” Ecobank CEO Jeremy Owori said.
This is positive for investors such as Chinese citizen Kuo Ming, owner of Kenya-based Sunmark Limited.
A shift from dollar-based transactions to yuan payments would support investors.
China’s position as the largest bilateral creditor to countries such as Senegal, Ethiopia and Kenya is also fueling the adoption of the yuan in Africa.
Kenya last year converted three Chinese railway construction loans from dollars to yuan, cutting interest costs by about $215 million annually, while Zambia announced in late 2023 that it would begin accepting royalties from mining rights and taxes from Chinese companies in yuan to boost its reserves and help pay off its debts to China.
Avocado exports
Chinese government officials said that Chinese imports and exports denominated in the yuan jumped 14% year-on-year in April to 4.38 trillion yuan ($647 billion), without referring to figures specific to Africa.
This trend is clearly visible in Kenya, as avocado exports to the huge Chinese market rose from 10 to 20 containers per week in 2022 to about 200 containers, with expectations that quantities will reach a thousand containers by 2030, matching shipments to Europe, which has always been the main market.
At his bottling facility on the outskirts of Nairobi, Sunripe managing director Thiku Shah expects China to overtake Europe between 2030 and 2035, and Kenya’s shift to yuan-denominated financing will accelerate growth in trade.
“If we issue invoices in yuan and the banks accept the yuan in settlement, and then we find a buyer for our yuan, that would be ideal,” he said.
