By Duncan Miriri
NAIROBI, June 18 (Reuters) - Surging Chinese trade with Africa and lifting of tariffs for most countries on the continent look set to boost yuan use, aiding Beijing's bid to build alternatives to Western finance.
China-Africa trade rose by nearly 18% last year, customs data show, with tariff cuts on imports from 53 countries in May expected to increase flows and yuan-denominated settlements.
International Monetary Fund research has found that yuan usage rises with trade exposure to
China, which announced new measures on Wednesday to promote the global use of its currency.
From Nigerian cattle bone pellets to Kenyan avocado oil and South African apples, Chinese ports are receiving more African cargo after the tariff elimination, boosting demand for settlement from yuan into local African currencies.
While there is little reliable data on Africa's yuan use, growth in trade with China is being reinforced by new payment platforms and some countries shifting debt into lower-cost currencies.
Yuan transactions are growing, said Standard Chartered Kenya CEO Birju Sanghrajka, adding he saw little sign of the currency unseating the dollar, yet. "We see it as complementary."
South Africa's Standard Bank became the first African commercial bank to connect to China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in November and processed $500 million in the first four months.
"The transactions we have seen have been primarily driven by import and export activities between China and Africa," said Ives Yang, head of sales at Standard Bank CIB's transactional banking. "We are working on bringing CIPS to more countries."
Beijing aims to support African exports by removing tariffs.
"Against a backdrop where unilateralism and protectionism are posing difficulties and challenges for African nations, China is leveraging the advantages of its vast market," said commerce ministry spokesman He Yadong.
TRADE FLOWS LENS
Bankers say the shift to the yuan reflects trade growth, rather than a direct challenge to the dollar.
Standard Chartered Kenya has begun issuing yuan-denominated letters of credit, enabling Kenyan customers to secure discounts by avoiding dollar conversion costs, Sanghrajka said.
China and countries including Russia are pushing payment channels that bypass the greenback, drawing warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump against abandoning the currency.
"Part of the issues we are seeing around the world now is how to reduce the dominance of the dollar," said Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise in Nigeria, adding that China is promoting yuan settlement.
"When you export to them, you are paid in yuan," Yusuf said.
CUT FOREIGN EXCHANGE RISKS
The African Export-Import Bank, which signed a deal last year to link to CIPS, says China accounts for 20% of the continent's external trade, from 5% two decades ago.
Others also see opportunities.
Togo-based Ecobank , which operates in 34 African countries, and Bank of China are working to launch a settlement product between yuan and local currencies this year.
"China is building its own payment and settlement rails that could make it almost instantaneous," Ecobank CEO Jeremy Awori said.
That is welcome news to investors such as Chinese national Qu Ming, owner of Kenya-based Sanmark Limited. A shift from dollar-based transactions to yuan payments would support the avocado oil processor, which employs 50 people.
"It will help us because of the exchange rate," Qu said, adding borrowing could also become cheaper given lower yuan interest rates.
China's status as the biggest bilateral creditor for countries like Senegal, Ethiopia and Kenya is also boosting Africa's yuan adoption.
Kenya last year converted three Chinese railway construction loans from dollars into yuan, cutting about $215 million a year in interest costs, while Zambia said in late 2025 it would begin accepting mining royalties and taxes from Chinese firms in yuan to boost its reserves and help service debt to China.
AVOCADO EXPORTS TO CHINA
China's yuan-denominated imports and exports jumped 14% in April to 4.38 trillion yuan ($647 billion) year-on-year, Chinese government officials said, without giving a figure for Africa.
That trend is visible in Kenya, where avocado exports to the vast Chinese market have surged from 10 to 20 containers a week in 2022 to around 200, with volumes projected to reach 1,000 by 2030, matching shipments to long-standing top market Europe.
At his packing facility just outside Nairobi, Sunripe managing director Thiku Shah predicted China could overtake Europe between 2030 and 2035, while Kenya's shift towards yuan-denominated financing could accelerate uptake in trade.
"If we invoice in yuan and the banks take the yuan in settlement and then we have a buyer for our yuan, then this would be perfect," he said.
($1 = 6.7655 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Additional reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing, Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg and Ben Ezeamalu in Lagos; Editing by Karin Strohecker and Alexander Smith)
