Zambia has started accepting China's yuan for mining taxes, becoming the first African nation to do so.

The Bank of Zambia is aligning its reserve management with the significant role of China as a major copper trade and debt partner.

The acceptance of the yuan enables Zambia to service its Chinese debts more cost-effectively.

The Central Bank further disclosed that since 2018, major mining companies have been paying taxes through the sale of US dollars to the Bank of Zambia, which would then remit the kwacha equivalent to the Zambia Revenue Authority.

This arrangement covered mineral royalty payments introduced earlier in 2018, together with other related taxes.

By October last year, Chinese mining companies in Zambia started paying their taxes in renminbi instead of US dollars.

The shift supports the Central Bank's objective to diversify and support the exchange reserves with this strategy.

The Bank of Zambia started the Kwacha-RMB exchange rates last year in November.

This reflects China's increasing financial influence in Africa's strategic resource sectors.

The move is also seen to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries.