According to online news sources, Zimbabwe has announced that it will make the Chinese yuan legal tender following confirmation that China would cancel $40 million in debts.
During a statement by the country’s minister Patrick Chinamasa regarding the debt cancellation, it was advised that Zimbabwe would start using the Chinese yuan as it seeks to increase trade with Beijing.
The Zimbabwean dollar was stopped in 2009 following its collapse due to hyper-inflation, and since this time it has used several foreign currencies including the US dollar (used in 85% of transactions) and South African rand. Though it was mentioned last year that the Chinese yuan would be an accepted form of currency within the country, it was not approved for public transactions. However, following China’s confirmation of cancelling Zimbabwe’s debts it is thought that the country will actively increase its use of the currency on a day-to-day basis.
