TUNIS, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of China has recently authorized the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited to jointly serve as the RMB Clearing Bank for Africa, which will empower China-Africa trade cooperation, Tunisian newspaper Tunisie Tribune has said.

Thanks to this authorization, enterprises and financial institutions from 19 African countries will directly access China's onshore financial system and tap into its domestic liquidity support for the first time, it said in a recently-published article.

Long constrained by foreign exchange shortages, Tunisian financial institutions can now look to the new joint clearing bank to ease foreign exchange pressures and diversify payment channels, bolstering supply security through greater autonomy, it said.

China-Africa trade cooperation is showing strong momentum and has broad prospects, it said. In 2025, China-Africa trade grew by nearly 18 percent year-on-year. Since May 1, 2026, China has implemented zero-tariff policy for 53 African diplomatic partners.

The RMB Clearing Bank for Africa enables direct cross-border RMB settlements, reducing double conversion fees and transaction costs, improving cross-border transaction efficiency and accelerating flows, and significantly mitigating exposure to volatile U.S. dollar fluctuations, it said.

This financial corridor is technologically based on China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, which the Standard Bank of South Africa integrated in November 2025, illustrating the shared desire of emerging economies to build a resilient financial system, it added. ■