BRICS Shifts Strategy: Chinese Yuan Gains Major Ground in Africa as US Dollar Faces Mounting Pressure

China is aggressively expanding the Chinese yuan's footprint in African trade, directly challenging the US dollar's long-standing dominance. With African nations spending an estimated $5 billion annually on dollar transaction fees, Beijing is offering currency swap agreements in yuan, presenting a cheaper alternative that could significantly erode dollar usage across the continent's $60 billion balance sheet.

BRICS: Africa’s Imports From China Rise by 27%, Usage of Chinese Yuan Grows

In 2025, Africa became China’s fastest-growing export market, with Chinese goods rising by over 27%. To keep up with the momentum, BRICS member China announced a zero-tariff policy for Africa for using the Chinese yuan. The development accelerated trade between the two, leading to an expansion in the movement of goods.

China is leveraging the trade and tariff tensions to its benefit by putting its local currency to work. Among the 11-member BRICS alliance, China is now the only country to push the Chinese yuan for trade. The other 10 nations have scaled back in fear of tariffs from Trump. They also bagged trade deals with the US on this very condition.