Bilateral commerce between Nigeria and China fell by N37.3 billion in 2022 compared to the previous year, despite both nations’ attempts to enhance bilateral relations.
Wang Yingqi, Minister and Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs at the People’s Republic of China Embassy in Beijing, led a delegation of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission in Abuja on Monday, noting that the trade record was $219 million in 2022 and $300 million in 2021.
According to him, “Nigeria and China have maintained a long-standing trade relationship which is why the visit was important to sought ways of improving bilateral relations as trade value alone in last year according to our statistics the total investment from China’s companies to Nigeria is around $219m and in the past year, the figure is also around $300m.”
He also stated that the Chinese government has an investment in the Lekki Free Trade Zone as a consequence of the Public Private Partnership with the federal government and the Lagos State Government.
Answering, Saratu Umar, Executive Secretary of NIPC, restated the federal government’s commitment to securing greater economic ties with the Chinese government on both nations’ investment drives, adding that it was time for Nigeria to begin exporting completed goods to China.
She said, “Overtime, Nigeria has always imported raw material to China, but we want to take it a notch further to ensure that we start exporting semi processed and finished goods.
“Which is why we want the Chinese business environment to identify areas of interest whether it is agriculture or solid minerals so Nigeria can integrate it into the Investment Masterplan.”
