She said that Africa has remained a priority in China’s overall diplomatic strategy, adding that the visit aimed to advance the implementation of the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit, deepen pragmatic cooperation across various sectors, and promote the sustained and in-depth development of China-Africa relations.
In her statement, made available to The Guardian yesterday, she noted that under the guidance of the two heads of state, China and Nigeria are poised to jointly create a model of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
According to her, during Yi’s meeting with Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu and Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar on January 9, the Foreign Minister highlighted that the development of China-Nigeria relations has achieved three outstanding achievements.
“First, the positioning of the relationship has achieved a new leap with the two heads of state jointly announcing that China-Nigeria relations have been upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
“Second, a new platform has been established through solidarity and collaboration. The first plenary session of the China-Nigeria Intergovernmental Committee was held successfully, which promoted the upgrading and coordinated progress of China-Nigeria cooperation.”
“Third, international cooperation has reached a new height. The two sides coordinate closely on international and regional affairs and work together to promote the collective rise, development and revitalisation of the Global South,” she said.
Yuqing added that the existing global instability requires the global South to remain steadfast in pursuing a more just, inclusive, and sustainable path to development.
She added that from January to November 2024, China-Nigeria bilateral trade exceeded $19 billion, with imports from Nigeria reaching $2.576 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27 per cent.
“We sincerely hope that China and Nigeria will achieve new progress in global industrial chain cooperation by leveraging their complementary strengths. The two nations can further explore new areas of collaboration, such as clean energy, green minerals, and finance.
“Expanding the comprehensiveness of China-Nigeria relations will promote coordinated development across various sectors, including trade, agriculture, culture, defense, science and technology, and aerospace,” Yuqing said.
Yi was in Africa last week and visited Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria.
