Zambia will begin accepting Chinese yuan for some copper exports to China from 2027, in a move aimed at reducing reliance on the US dollar, lowering transaction costs and strengthening financial ties with its largest trading partner.
Bank of Zambia Governor Denny Kalyalya disclosed the plan in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, this week.
The arrangement will initially involve Chinese mining companies operating in Zambia that already pay some of their taxes and royalties in renminbi (RMB), another name for the yuan.
“That’s the starting point,” Kalyalya said, indicating that the initiative could expand as Zambia deepens its financial cooperation with Beijing.
“We also hope that new lending could also be denominated in renminbi. That would help a great deal,” he added.
The proposed change builds on Zambia’s decision to accept yuan payments for mining taxes and royalties, which began in October 2025. Several major copper operations in the country have Chinese ownership, including the Chambishi and Luanshya mines, operated by subsidiaries of China Nonferrous Mining Group.
Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, is also discussing a potential currency swap agreement with China. Kalyalya said settling some copper sales in yuan could help advance those negotiations by increasing the circulation of the Chinese currency in Zambia’s financial system.
The shift reflects growing efforts across Africa to diversify international trade and financing away from the US dollar. China is the continent’s largest trading partner, and countries with substantial trade and debt links to Beijing could benefit from receiving revenue in the same currency used to meet some of their financial obligations.
For Zambia, yuan-denominated copper receipts could help reduce currency conversion expenses and make repayments on Chinese loans more straightforward. Kenya has already converted some Chinese railway loans from dollars into yuan, while Ethiopia has discussed similar arrangements with Chinese lenders.
However, the initiative does not necessarily mean copper prices will be determined in yuan. The principal change concerns the currency used to invoice and settle transactions, rather than the benchmarks used to establish international copper prices.
For China, wider use of the yuan in commodity transactions would support its longstanding efforts to internationalise the currency and reduce the dollar’s dominance in global trade. Chinese commodity exchanges have also sought to expand yuan-denominated pricing for metals and other resources.
Nevertheless, broader adoption of the yuan carries potential risks, including exchange-rate exposure and the currency’s more limited international liquidity compared with the US dollar.
The scale of the initiative will depend on how much of Zambia’s copper exports to China ultimately shifts to yuan settlement.
If expanded, the arrangement could offer Zambia another tool for managing foreign-exchange pressures while deepening its economic relationship with Beijing.
