The bilateral trade between Nigeria and China has dropped by N37.3 bn in 2022 from the previous record in 2021, just as both countries make efforts to improve bilateral relations.
The Minister and Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yingqi, who led a delegation of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce on Monday to the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission in Abuja, noted that the trade record was $219m in 2022 and $300m 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 further said that as a result of the Public Private Partnership with the federal government and the Lagos State Government, the Chinese government has an investment in the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
Responding, the Executive Secretary NIPC, Saratu Umar, reiterated the federal government’s commitment to ensuring deeper business partnerships with the Chinese government on the investment drive of both countries,adding that it was time for Nigeria to start exporting finished 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.”
SOURCE: THE PUNCH
