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China has reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s economic growth, industrialization, and trade diversification as both countries marked 55 years of diplomatic relations on Wednesday in Abuja.
The milestone event brought together top diplomats, scholars, policymakers, and traditional leaders to reflect on past achievements and chart a forward-looking partnership.
Charles Onunaiju, Director, Centre for China Studies (CCS), said, “Since 1971, Nigeria has maintained the One China Policy, while China solemnly commits to the indivisibility of Nigeria. Beyond this important foundation, the two countries have forged intense partnership establishing both strategic partnership and creating a unique process of sustainable dialogue; the inter-government committees across diverse areas of mutual interests and cooperation.”
He highlighted the growth in trade between the two nations, noting, “Trade has grown exponentially reaching more than 22 billion U.S dollars last year, with even more impetus to soar. With a stable market access, Nigeria is placed uniquely to ramp up exports and gain new values through steady flow of foreign exchange receipts instead of a tax regime and subsidy withdrawal strategy that transfer money from one pocket to the other, merely recirculating the existing values without actually creating new values.”
Ambassador Muhammed Haidara, Director, Asia and Pacific Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “By lowering barriers to the Chinese market, the Zero Tariff Treatment creates new incentives for Nigerian producers in agro-processing, textiles and apparel, leather, solid minerals processing, and other value‑adding sectors. It encourages us to move boldly from exporting what we extract to exporting what we create.” He added that Nigeria must address challenges in infrastructure, logistics, standards, certification, and market intelligence to fully benefit from the initiative.
China’s Chargé d’Affaires, Zhou Hongyou, noted the depth of bilateral cooperation.
He said, “For 55 years, China and Nigeria have been trusted friends who stand together through thick and thin… Our cooperation has yielded fruitful results across trade, infrastructure, energy, mining, health, and human resources development. Landmark projects, including the Lekki Deep Sea Port, the Zungeru Hydropower Station, the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Natural Gas Pipeline, the Abuja Water Supply Project, and railway modernization initiatives, have injected powerful momentum into Nigeria’s economic and social progress.
“In 2025, our bilateral trade surpassed USD 28 billion, a year-on-year increase of more than 28 percent, while China’s direct investment in Nigeria reached USD 690 million, up 103 percent from the previous year. These figures vividly illustrate the dynamism and vast potential of our partnership.”
Dr Joseph Ochogwu, Director-General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), said the dialogue provided a platform to assess achievements and explore emerging challenges, noting that economic partnerships must be people-centred, conflict-sensitive, and aligned with national and regional stability goals.
Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, reflected on his father’s tenure as Nigeria’s first ambassador to China, saying, “Coming from Africa, he was promoted at the front of the diplomatic list to see Chairman Mao… It just tells you how far a nation has come in five decades.”
He urged Nigeria to leverage its position as the largest West African market to attract manufacturing and production to the country, cautioning against remaining a consumer nation dependent on imports.
