The National Bank of Ethiopia and People's Bank of China have agreed to RMB trade settlements and swap lines following a high-level meeting between their governors. The initiative aims to bolster Ethiopia's foreign exchange reserves in Chinese yuan. Officials discussed economic reforms and payment system integration.
The National Bank of Ethiopia announced a new initiative for RMB trade settlements at the end of a bilateral meeting between its governor, Eyob Tekalign, and Pan Gongsheng of the People's Bank of China. Eyob Tekalign detailed Ethiopia's debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework, promising GDP growth, rebuilt foreign exchange reserves, and effective inflation controls.
Both governors showed interest in currency swap lines and trade finance facilities to ease commerce. Eyob highlighted opportunities to build RMB reserves from Ethiopian Airlines revenues and key exports. Such a shift is expected to benefit Chinese firms in Ethiopia and attract more foreign direct investment.
The talks covered modernizing cross-border payments through integrated infrastructures. Pan Gongsheng offered support for Ethiopian banks to join China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and expand China UnionPay services locally. This should simplify retail and commercial transactions between the nations.
