The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, announced on July 8 that it had authorized the Bank of China (BOC) as a clearing bank for RMB business in Johannesburg. The Johannesburg branch of Bank of China has thus become the first RMB clearing bank in Africa, according to People's Daily on Thursday.

Earlier, South African Reserve Bank and the PBOC had signed a memorandum of cooperation on establishing a RMB clearing bank in South Africa.

As of 2014, China had been South Africa's largest trading partner for six consecutive years while South Africa is China's largest trading partner in Africa. This year, the sixth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in South Africa. China-Africa cooperation in capacity and infrastructure construction will promote RMB-related business, investment and financing needs in Africa. The RMB development potential in Africa is huge.

The Johannesburg branch of Bank of China, established in October 2010, is the first Chinese bank in South Africa. The bank completed the first RMB clearing business in the same year.