Recently, the first plenary meeting of the China-Nigeria governmental committee was held in Beijing and a joint statement was issued. The meeting stressed the need to give full play to the demonstrative role of economic and trade cooperation, jointly driving the "four horses" of infrastructure, trade, finance, and new energy to promote the high-quality development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
As the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria is an important trade partner and investment destination for China. The bilateral relationship between the two countries has been long-term friendly, and bilateral economic and trade cooperation has achieved fruitful results.
With the continuous acceleration of China's opening up, the channels for Sino-Nigeria economic and trade cooperation have become more diverse and inclusive, and the cooperation mechanisms have also been continuously enriched. In recent years, the commercial associations and foreign trade enterprises of both countries have jointly overcome the challenges and uncertainties brought by the external environment and maintained the smooth flow of economic and trade exchanges through online exhibitions, online forums and other means.
As the largest and most influential business association in West Africa, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry continued to sign up for the seventh China International Import Expo this year. At the same time, Chinese enterprises actively participated in the China Brand Goods (Nigeria) Exhibition and the China-Africa (Nigeria) Capacity Cooperation Brand Exhibition. The joint statement issued by the first plenary session of the China-Nigeria Joint Commission pointed out that the two countries are committed to high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and will strengthen the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative, the outcomes of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum conferences, and President Tinubu's "Renewed Hope" and "Eight Priority Areas" policy agenda, to promote all-around and high-quality practical cooperation.
China-Nigeria cooperation is an important part of China-Africa cooperation and South-South cooperation. Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more Chinese enterprises have invested and set up businesses in Nigeria. The completion and operation of the Lekki Deep Water Port and the Aba Railways Project have injected new impetus into Nigeria's economic development and continuously improved local people's lives. In the next decade of the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Nigeria will push for further upgrading of economic and trade cooperation.