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Chinese buyers of Zambian copper will begin paying for some purchases in renminbi from next year, as more African nations turn to the Chinese currency, Bloomberg reported.

The arrangement will initially cover Chinese producers that already pay their Zambian taxes in the Chinese yuan, Bank of Zambia Governor Denny Kalyalya said in an interview on Tuesday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
 
The development takes place against the backdrop of rising acceptance of the yuan in the international market.

China in March completed its first purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) using cross-border yuan settlement. 

China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer, purchased a shipment of LNG from TotalEnergies through the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange (SHPGX). The transaction was settled in yuan, according to SHPGX’s official WeChat account. 
 
While the US dollar remains the dominant currency for pricing global commodities, renminbi settlement can help businesses reduce exchange rate risks, broaden payment options for commodity transactions and strengthen supply chain financial resilience, experts said.

Trade between China and many partner countries has grown substantially. Direct renminbi settlement skips currency conversion steps, lowering exchange rate risks and conversion charges. Countries receiving renminbi can spend the currency directly to purchase Chinese goods and services, experts said.

They added that the access to renminbi had expanded and described its exchange rate as more stable than those of the US dollar and euro. These factors make the currency more attractive and support its growing use in cross-border transactions.

In recent years, the internationalization of the yuan has made remarkable progress. 

Renminbi has become China’s top settlement currency for external receipts and payments. It is also the world’s second-largest currency for trade financing, third-largest for payments, and fifth-largest for foreign exchange trading, according to the 2026 RMB Internationalization Report released by the People’s Bank of China.