Standard Bank has become the first African bank to directly integrate with China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), providing African companies with a faster route to pay Chinese suppliers in Renminbi, rather than routing transactions through the US dollar.
The integration removes an extra step long embedded in Africa-China trade flows, where companies typically settled invoices in dollars, exposing them to delays, higher fees and currency volatility.
The shift comes as Chinese imports continue to dominate African trade. Standard Bank’s 2024 Trade Barometer shows 34% of African firms now import from China, up from 23% a year earlier. China-Africa trade reached $134 billion in the first five months of 2025, driven largely by finished goods flowing into Africa and raw materials travelling the other way.
CIPS allows global banks to clear and settle cross-border RMB payments directly and in near real time. Standard Bank secured its licence in June and has already gone live across its digital channels. With operations in 21 African countries, the bank says RMB settlement could ease cash-flow strain for import-heavy sectors such as manufacturing, electronics and construction.
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The move aligns with a broader global push for diversified payment systems as geopolitical shifts reshape trade financing.
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Key Takeaways
Standard Bank’s CIPS integration signals a notable step in the evolution of Africa-China trade, where the dominance of dollar-based settlement has long created friction for importers. Direct RMB clearing eliminates exposure to dollar liquidity shortages and exchange-control delays–issues that frequently affect African firms and complicate cash flow planning. By processing payments in real or near real time, CIPS also reduces operational risk for companies that source heavily from China. The bank’s move also reflects broader geopolitical shifts. As more countries create alternative payment channels to reduce reliance on the dollar, African lenders face pressure to modernise cross-border infrastructure. Standard Bank’s early adoption could give it an advantage among corporates seeking faster settlement and more predictable pricing. Longer term, the integration may influence how African central banks approach foreign-exchange management and deepen RMB usage in trade finance. If adoption accelerates, it could reshape settlement norms in one of Africa’s most important commercial corridors.
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As climate talks in Belém enter their final stretch, negotiators are working on three fronts: technical details, ministerial consultations, and Presidency-led discussions. Behind the jargon and complex frameworks lie fundamental choices for more than 190 countries – choices that could shape how the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, is turned into real-world action.
In practical terms, the debates at COP30 revolve around three big questions:
1) How can countries ramp up climate action?
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With the planet heating at record speed and climate disasters intensifying, cutting emissions and adapting to impacts dominate the agenda. Delegates are looking at key tools:
· Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): National climate plans updated every five years. At COP30, countries are weighing new ways to boost ambition and speed up implementation.
· Phasing out fossil fuels: COP28 agreed to “transition away from fossil fuels.” Now, negotiators are debating whether to set a clearer, context-based roadmap for that shift.
· National Adaptation Plans (NAPs): 72 countries have submitted plans, but most lack funding. One proposal: triple adaptation finance by 2025.
· Global Goal on Adaptation: Talks focus on roughly 100 indicators to track progress on adaptation worldwide.
· Forest Finance Roadmap: Already backed by 36 governments representing 45 per cent of global forest cover and 65 per cent of GDP. It aims to close a $66.8 billion annual gap for tropical forest protection and restoration.
2) How can money and technology reach those who need it most?
Political promises alone won’t solve the climate crisis – they need real resources. COP30 negotiators are exploring ways to unlock finance and technology:
· Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement: Developed countries must support developing nations financially. Delegates are considering an action plan and accountability tools.
· Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion: A proposal to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries, with five action areas and debt-free instruments under discussion.
· Loss and Damage Fund: Created at COP27 and launched at COP28 to help countries hit hardest by climate impacts. It arrives at COP30 underfunded, sparking calls for more contributions.
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· Green Climate Fund: The world’s largest climate fund, but its latest replenishment cycle showed signs of decline.
· Global Environment Facility: Provides grants to developing countries, but current funding is seen as inadequate.
· Technology Implementation Programme: Aims to improve access to climate technologies, but negotiations remain divided over financial and trade barriers.
· Trade-restrictive unilateral measures: Climate-related trade policies that may disadvantage developing countries. One idea: create a platform to assess their impact.
3) How can climate action be fair and inclusive?
Even with funding, big transitions risk deepening inequalities unless they protect vulnerable communities. Negotiators are working on frameworks to ensure fairness:
· Just Transition Work Programme: Promotes social justice, decent work, and sustainable development. Countries expect a practical framework aligned with workers’ and communities’ realities.
· Gender Action Plan: Guides the integration of gender perspectives into climate action. The first plan was adopted in 2017; an updated version is due at COP30.
Why what happens in Belém matters
The choices made in Belém will shape how the Paris Agreement moves from words to action, and whether global climate goals remain within reach. Behind closed doors, the mood is clear: time is short, and compromise cannot wait. These decisions will shape not only the pace of emissions cuts but also whether justice is delivered for indigenous peoples, as well as Africa and developing nations, who bear the brunt of climate impacts despite contributing least to the crisis.
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China has announced a US$3.49 million (R60 million) partnership with South Africa to expand HIV prevention services among adolescents and young people, as well as people who inject drugs, over the next two years.
These two groups are among those considered key populations – people who are at high risk of HIV infection. Globally, young people between the ages of 15 to 24 account for more than a third of new infections, while people who inject drugs face disproportionately high risk due to limited access to harm-reduction services
Speaking at the launch event in Pretoria this week, health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi says the $3.5 million grant comes at the right time, “when the funding for HIV prevention interventions is shrinking.”
The project aims to reach 54 000 adolescents and young people in 16 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges across seven provinces. It will also support 500 people in Gauteng who inject drugs through harm reduction and opioid agonist therapy programmes.
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HIV risk among adolescents
South Africa has the world’s largest HIV burden with about 8 million people living with HIV. New infections remain stubbornly high, especially among adolescent girls and young women.
“In this country, every day, 122 adolescent girls and young women acquire HIV, 1000 every week. This is not just a biological gap. It is a justice gap. We are failing them,” says Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS executive director. “To prevent new infections in this group, we need to tackle gender inequality, poverty, and the violence that strips young women of power over their bodies, choices, and futures.”
The minister underscored the critical role of adolescents as a measure for the success – or failure – of the country’s HIV response. “They are not just beneficiaries. They are the barometer of our society’s future health,” he says.
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People who inject drugs
People who inject drugs are at a high risk of several diseases, including HIV. But this population group is pushed to the margins of society by restrictive laws that criminalise drug use and discriminatory attitudes that discourage health-seeking behaviours.
“People who inject drugs deserve health services that are tailor-made yet fully integrated. We ought not to be judgmental,” Motsoaledi says.
A major barrier to the provision of targeted services for this group, according to the minister, is limited evidence or data regarding opioid replacement and substitution therapy and services in the country. To address this gap, the department will implement pilot projects in two provinces.
“This will generate pragmatic lessons, informing strategic guidance, within the required legal framework. This financial support from China will be catalytic for South Africa to fast-track pilot activities and inform us better.”
The HIV care needs among people who inject drugs are the subject of new research published in the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine. The study found that only 40% of people in this population who start antiretroviral therapy (ART) are still in treatment after six months. This means that for every 10 people who started HIV treatment, only four stayed on it long enough to sustain health benefits.
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What’s particularly concerning about these findings is that, when HIV treatment is interrupted, the virus can rebound, raising the risk of transmission and drug resistance.
The last mile
Motsoaledi believes that South Africa can eradicate HIV in much the same way that smallpox was eradicated. But this will require aggressive and targeted prevention strategies to reach communities that are falling through the cracks.
“This is our last mile for eradicating HIV as a public health threat. Therefore, there’s no room for waiting. No space to delay,” the minister says.
“Let us not pretend that these issues are easy. Substance and drug abuse, young people’s vulnerability, and high HIV prevalence among key populations are the uncomfortable battlegrounds of modern public health.” – Health-e News
This article is republished under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
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