African economies are accelerating their use of China’s yuan for trade, debt servicing, foreign exchange reserves, and cross-border payments. The shift marks one of the continent’s clearest moves yet to reduce dependence on the US dollar as governments grapple with persistent dollar shortages and deepen financial ties with Beijing.
An increasing number of African economies—including Angola, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia—are adopting yuan-based financing and settlement arrangements as China strengthens its position as Africa’s largest trading partner and a leading source of infrastructure finance.
The yuan’s rise across the continent has surged since 2023, gathering pace through 2025 and the first half of this year. What began with bilateral currency swaps and isolated trade-settlement agreements has evolved into a broader effort to use the Chinese currency for trade, reserves, debt servicing and cross-border payments.
The transition forms part of a broader de-dollarisation trend gathering pace across Africa and other
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