Commercial banks in Africa are calling for more Renminbi transactions between entrepreneurs doing business in China and Chinese companies working in Africa, according to an attendee of the Africa-China Forum in Uganda's capital Kampala.

Jeremy Stevens, an economist at Standard Bank Beijing, said progress has been made in discussions on the exclusive use of the Chinese currency between clients who do business in both Africa and China.

"We are talking to the clients in Africa that are buying stuff from China to say, 'Would you be interested in paying in Renminbi? Do you want to receive invoices in Renminbi?' We are communicating with them that we have the capacity and competency to facilitate that transaction, and then we are going on the China side and we are talking to the exporters to say, 'Are you interested in using the Renminbi more?' And so we see a lot of progress on the African continent," said Stevens.

Stevens also believed that the Renminbi should play a greater role on the continent.

"A couple of thousand Chinese businesses are already operating on the continent. There is over a million Chinese people living in Africa that have moved from China, and so that creates a bi-directional flow. So you have got a supply and demand for the Renminbi on both sides," Stevens added

China is Africa's biggest and most important trading partner, accounting for more than $300 billion's worth of business.

This is a figure that has grown tenfold over the past decade.

(China Plus/CCTV March 21, 2016)