The Chinese government has pledged to increase imports of agricultural products from Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a joint statement by Wang Yi, China’s Foreign Affairs Minister, and Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, during the first plenary meeting of the China-Nigeria Intergovernmental Committee in Beijing.
This follows Nigeria’s export of agricultural products worth N572.58 billion to the Asian market, including China.
The joint statement, published on China’s foreign affairs website on Saturday, outlined an agreement to strengthen cooperation in various sectors, including infrastructure, electricity, telecommunications, finance, agriculture, industry, mining, and free trade zones.
The statement read: “China is willing to further increase imports of high-quality agricultural products from Nigeria. Nigeria is willing to strengthen its partnership with China in mining and solid mineral development and is willing to cooperate with Chinese companies to build factories locally to meet local consumption and export needs.”
“The two sides are willing to create an open, transparent, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for cooperation between enterprises of the two countries, support the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, oppose trade protectionism, and promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment,” the statement added.
Furthermore, China expressed its support for Nigeria in enhancing its capacity building in military security technology, equipment, and intelligence, with the aim of enabling the country to more effectively respond to both traditional and non-traditional security challenges, not only within its borders but also in the region and on the international stage.
This support is intended to help Nigeria maintain national peace and stability, and to address security threats effectively.
In response, Tuggar took to his social media handle (X) on Saturday to confirm the discussions held during the meeting with the Chinese government. He highlighted the extensive Nigeria-China relations spanning over 50 years, stressing mutual support in global platforms such as the UN.
“Both sides agreed to enhance partnership across various sectors and create a business-friendly environment.
They also reaffirmed commitments to good governance, regional stability, and economic development, including a currency swap agreement to facilitate trade,” Tuggar tweeted.