Highlighting the importance of tapping into China’s massive $22 trillion economy, the Director, Centre for China Studies, Charles Onunaiju, said that Nigerian policymakers should not treat the Asian giant’s market volume as a joke.
Onunaiju said this at the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Nigeria-China diplomatic relations.
The event was tagged, ‘Nigeria-China at 50: Reflections and the way forward’, and was held in Abuja.
He noted that Nigeria and Africa could take up the title of the world’s next industrial frontier.
He also stated that it was crucial that policies enacted in the country were aligned with global trends.
Onunaiju said, “As China dredges through the gridlock of the middle-income trap and evolve to post-industrial economy of knowledge and innovation, the title of the world’s next industrial frontier falls to Nigeria and Africa with Chinese firms setting their eyes on Nigeria, it is imperative that we engage policy priorities that accommodate the objective trends of global and specifically, China’s industrial convergence on our shores.
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“Accessibility to the Chinese huge market; a market volume of about $22tn is no joke and should not escape the attention of policymakers.”
He added that Nigeria could better improve its industrialisation by addressing “her transport networks”.
The director also said that the improvement of the transport networks could be achieved through “robust engagement with the Belt and Road mechanism”.
“If Nigeria addresses her transport networks, which can be achieved through robust engagement with the Belt and Road mechanism, seize the opportunities of her potential as the next industrial frontier through mainstreaming with China, the industrial and production capacity cooperation, then she is well on the way to exploring the huge Chinese market, not with primary products or commodities but solid medium industrial products to be modest,” he stated.
