Africa is emerging as fertile ground for Beijing’s drive to make the yuan a major international currency and reduce reliance on the US dollar, as an increasing number of financial institutions deepen their integration with China’s payment network.

Following talks in Beijing between Central Bank of Libya Governor Naji Issa and People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng last month, the country’s banks are set to join China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), an alternative to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial