ACCRA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- African governments and financial institutions have been gradually promoting diversified trade settlement and expanding RMB settlement, as China fully implemented zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations in May.
Ecobank Group, a Togo-based pan-African banking group, has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to strengthen RMB payment connectivity between China and Africa.
From late July to August, Stanbic Bank, the subsidiary of South Africa's Standard Bank Group in markets including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, and Namibia, officially connected to CIPS.
Bank of Kigali, Rwanda's largest commercial bank, announced in late September that it had officially become a direct participant in CIPS.
Ghana's GCB Bank PLC, the country's largest indigenous bank, and Banco de Fomento Angola, Angola's second-largest commercial bank, also planned to join CIPS to meet customers' growing demand for direct RMB settlement.
Bill Blackie, chief executive of business and commercial banking at Standard Bank Group, said in September that China's zero-tariff treatment is helping African businesses lower export costs, while growing RMB settlement capacity is further facilitating trade between Africa and China.
He said Standard Bank currently provides RMB payment connectivity in 10 African markets, enabling some cross-border payments to be settled within minutes rather than days.
Johnson Asiama, governor of the Bank of Ghana, said recently that authorities will work with their Chinese counterparts to eliminate third-party currency settlements in transactions between Ghanaian traders and Chinese suppliers.
China has been Africa's largest trading partner. In 2025, China-Africa trade grew by 17.7 percent year on year to reach 348 billion U.S. dollars, while Africa's exports to China exceeded 123 billion dollars.
"CIPS is beginning to offer Africa a different route," said Gerald Mbanda, a Rwandan researcher and publisher on China-Africa development and cooperation.
He told Xinhua that this is more than a technical banking development and could become an important financial component of the expanding economic ties between African countries and China.
According to Mbanda, CIPS provides infrastructure for cross-border payments and settlement in yuan. As African banks increasingly connect to the system, businesses can gain more direct access to RMB-denominated transactions with Chinese counterparts.
Jonas Atingdui, a Ghanaian economic and policy analyst, said that the internationalization of the RMB could be understood as part of the gradual diversification of the international monetary and payments system. There is a gradual decline in the proportion of U.S. dollar reserves held by central banks, globally, in favor of gold and other currencies.
"For African economies, greater use of the RMB can provide an additional option for settling trade with China," he said.
He said direct RMB settlement through CIPS can not only reduce unnecessary currency conversions, lessen reliance on multiple correspondent or intermediary banks, improve transaction efficiency and lower foreign exchange risk, but also improve business relationships with Chinese suppliers.
With the official implementation of the zero-tariff measures, China's imports from Africa reached 193.8 billion yuan (about 28.96 billion U.S. dollars) in May and June, up 23.5 percent year-on-year. Imports of avocados, apples and oranges surged by 130 percent, 89.6 percent and 27.9 percent, respectively.
Atingdui said that to better use the zero-tariff dividends, financial development needs to keep pace with trade. If Ghanaian exporters sell to China and receive RMB, the development of RMB payment infrastructure gives them an opportunity to receive and manage those proceeds more directly.
He also noted that the market depth of the RMB in Africa is currently limited, and therefore, financial infrastructure needs to be complemented by financial education.
"The next stage should ensure that this channel is not used exclusively by large enterprises. Banks, government agencies and business associations should educate smaller importers and exporters about RMB settlement, foreign exchange risk, documentation requirements and opportunities related to direct trade with China," he added. ■
