By Sarafina Christopher, Information Company of Nigeria (NAN)
Observers say that China–Nigeria diplomatic relations recorded important consolidation in 2025.
The 2 nations’ engagements in 2025, they famous, have laid a stable basis for sustained, wholesome, and secure growth of bilateral relations, going ahead.
In the course of the 12 months below evaluate, bilateral cooperation in commerce, funding, infrastructure, tradition and people-to-people change delivered tangible outcomes.
These outcomes have strengthened the Complete Strategic Partnership between each nations.
Over the previous 12 months, exchanges and visits on the native stage grew to become extra frequent, injecting steady momentum into bilateral relations.
The 2 sides persistently supported one another on points regarding core pursuits and main issues reminiscent of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China supported Nigeria’s efforts to safeguard nationwide sovereignty, safety, and growth pursuits, in addition to to advertise financial progress and enhance individuals’s livelihoods.
Nigeria firmly adhered to the One-China precept and steadfastly helps the Chinese language authorities’s endeavors to realize nationwide reunification.
Within the areas of commerce, China-Nigeria commerce has grown steadily, and funding and development cooperation have been upgraded in each scale and high quality.
Within the first ten months of 2025, bilateral commerce reached 22.3 billion U.S. {dollars}, surpassing the entire commerce quantity of 2024 and representing a year-on-year enhance of over 30 per cent.
China’s direct funding in Nigeria amounted to 670 million {dollars}, up 130 per cent year-on-year, demonstrating the sturdy resilience and broad prospects of financial and commerce cooperation between the 2 nations.
Cooperation on main tasks additionally superior steadily with constructive outcomes.
The Higher Abuja Water Provide Mission has, as an example, been efficiently accomplished.
This has successfully addressed secure water entry for practically three million residents in Abuja and considerably bettering native residing situations.
The Kano-Kaduna Railway Mission has secured full financing disbursement, as over half of the development has been accomplished.
This has laid a stable basis for enhancing Nigeria’s transport connectivity and selling regional financial integration.
Over the previous 12 months, people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Nigeria have continued to deepen, with a sequence of actions delivering highlights.
The Chinese language language educating and China introduction programme: “Nihao! China,” was formally launched on the Federal Radio Company of Nigeria, airing over 20 episodes, every reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners.
Model cultural occasions such because the “Comfortable Chinese language New Yr Temple Honest” and “Tea for Concord: Yaji Cultural Salon,” have gained vast recognition and are warmly welcomed by native communities.
The variety of “China Corners” established in public senior secondary colleges in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory elevated to fifteen.
These have served as vital home windows for Nigerian youth to find out about Chinese language tradition and broaden their international views.
The variety of Nigerian college students in China has exceeded 5,000.
The scholars are gaining a deeper understanding of China and actively showcasing Nigeria’s wonderful tradition to the Chinese language individuals.
These pleasant exchanges between the 2 nations have made the scholars Nigerian envoys of type.
Such efforts have vividly illustrated the rising mutual understanding and deepening conventional friendship between the 2 peoples.
Over the previous 12 months, the armed forces of the 2 nations maintained frequent exchanges and steadily deepened sensible cooperation.
Former Nigerian Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru, as an example, attended the Beijing Xiangshan Discussion board.
Badaru delivered a keynote speech and engaged in shut interactions with Chinese language and overseas army leaders, additional enhancing mutual friendship.
Nigeria’s Home of Representatives Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, additionally led a high-level delegation to the eighth China Worldwide Import-Expo (CIIE), and held talks with Chinese language Premier Li Qiang.
The Vice Chairman of the Nationwide Committee of the Chinese language Folks’s Political Consultative Convention Hu Chunhua additionally paid a profitable go to to Nigeria.
Chinese language delegations visited Nigeria to attend the African Air Forces Discussion board and met with the previous Chief of the Air Employees of Nigeria to strengthen consultations on selling exchanges between the 2 nations’ air forces.
Inside the 12 months, the variety of Nigerian army personnel collaborating in coaching programmes in Chinese language establishments practically doubled.
These concerned officers from a number of providers and varied ranges, together with the military, navy, and air pressure, geared toward enhancing the professionalism of the Nigerian army.
China additionally supplied gear to the Nigerian army and safety businesses to assist efforts in combating terrorist threats and prison actions, and upkeep of social stability.
The personnel exchanges between China and Nigeria grew to become more and more shut, with rising interactions.
Nigerian residents continued to point out sturdy enthusiasm for conducting enterprise, working, and finding out in China.
The variety of Chinese language residents participating in commerce, funding, and work in Nigeria rose over the 12 months.
In 2025, Chinese language diplomatic and consular missions in Nigeria launched a sequence of visa facilitation measures, together with on-line purposes, exemption from fingerprint assortment, and charge reductions.
Over 55,000 visas had been processed all year long, representing a rise of practically 45 per cent in visa providers in comparison with the previous 12 months.
These efforts facilitated personnel exchanges between the 2 nations.
In addition they made constructive contributions to job creation, expertise growth, infrastructure enchancment, and the enhancement of individuals’s livelihoods in Nigeria.
In keeping with the Chinese language Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, 2025 was a vital 12 months for the event of China-Nigeria relations.
He famous that following Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu’s state go to to China in September 2025, the expansion of China-Nigeria complete strategic partnership entered a “quick lane.”
Yu mentioned the strategic steerage of the 2 nations’ presidents, and all-round cooperation between the 2 nations yielded exceptional outcomes, delivering tangible advantages to their peoples.
The Chinese language envoy mentioned that over the previous 12 months, China and Nigeria maintained shut high-level exchanges and repeatedly strengthened political mutual belief.
He mentioned: “In January 2025, Overseas Minister Wang Yi made Nigeria the primary cease of his thirty fifth consecutive annual go to to Africa, assembly with President Bola Tinubu and holding talks with Overseas Minister Yusuf Tuggar.
“The 2 overseas ministers met 3 times in the course of the 12 months; additionally they met in Brazil, collectively sending a powerful message upholding multilateralism and justice.
“In June, on the sidelines of the Coordinators’ Assembly on the Implementation of the Comply with-up Actions of the Discussion board on China-Africa Cooperation, the 2 overseas ministers held their third assembly, additional solidifying consensus between the 2 nations.
Growth cooperation has at all times been a key pillar of China-Nigeria collaboration, with notable achievements recorded in human sources growth and capability constructing.
In 2025 alone, China organised varied short-term coaching programmes in China, by which greater than 2,000 Nigerian officers, students, and technical professionals participated.
This made Nigeria the nation with the most important variety of trainees receiving Chinese language coaching globally.
The coaching covers areas reminiscent of governance expertise sharing, poverty discount, manufacturing, agriculture, public well being, commerce and funding, scientific and technological innovation.
Others are the blue economic system, and the digital economic system, all intently aligned with Nigeria’s nationwide growth wants and contributing to its financial and social progress.
Throughout their coaching in China, contributors gained in-depth understanding of China’s practices and expertise in poverty discount and growth.
Many expressed their willingness to conduct analysis tailor-made to Nigeria’s nationwide situations and promote the localised utility of related expertise.
For instance, after systematically finding out agricultural irrigation methods in China, agricultural consultants from northern Nigerian state governments compiled their learnings into manuals.
These manuals have supplied sensible options to deal with native agricultural drought challenges.
Additionally, by way of platforms reminiscent of Chinese language Authorities Scholarships, Confucius Institutes, Luban Workshops, and Silk Street Crafts Institutes, China has continued to supply studying and superior coaching alternatives for Nigerian youth and professionals.
These have steadily strengthened the general public assist and expertise basis for the pleasant cooperation between China and Nigeria.
2026 marks the fifty fifth anniversary of the institution of diplomatic relations between China and Nigeria, the China-Africa Yr of Folks-to-Folks and Cultural Exchanges, and the start of China’s fifteenth 5-Yr Plan.
Yu pledged that China would at all times preserve shut communication with Nigeria, improve strategic coordination, increase all-round cooperation, obtain extra mutual advantages, and advance the China-Nigeria complete strategic partnership to new heights.
He mentioned that China was able to work actively with Nigeria to implement the outcomes of the Beijing Summit and promote the implementation of its”Ten Cooperation Plans” in Nigeria.
Going ahead, he mentioned China would assist Nigeria in enjoying a higher position in worldwide and regional affairs.
He mentioned that China was additionally prepared to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Nigeria inside multilateral frameworks such because the United Nations, the World Commerce Organisation, and BRICS.
Yu defined that this may promote solidarity and energy among the many World South, advance international multipolarity and financial globalisation, and construct a extra simply and equitable international governance system.
“We’re able to align our respective growth strengths with Nigeria, elevate cooperation in areas reminiscent of commerce, funding, agriculture, mining, infrastructure, and other people’s livelihoods, and increase collaboration in rising industries reminiscent of clear vitality, electrical automobiles, synthetic intelligence, and biotechnology,” he mentioned.
The Chinese language envoy mentioned China would additionally promote the early implementation of zero-tariff measures in Nigeria and supply higher market entry and aggressive benefits for high-quality Nigerian merchandise getting into the Chinese language market.
He mentioned that his nation would proceed organising cultural change occasions such because the “China-Nigeria Meals Carnival” and “China-Nigeria Movie Week” to showcase the distinctive appeal and mutual integration of the 2 nations’ cultures.
Yu added that his nation would proceed offering short-term coaching alternatives in China for excellent Nigerian abilities in tradition, tourism, schooling, and different fields.
China, he mentioned, would even be supporting Nigeria’s modernisation drive and the reason for bilateral friendship by way of expertise cultivation and expertise sharing.
In keeping with him, China is able to improve high-level mutual help with Nigeria, strengthen cooperation between their safety departments, and assist Nigeria in bettering its army capabilities in know-how, gear, and intelligence.
The envoy defined that this may go a protracted technique to safeguard nationwide sovereignty and safety pursuits, and successfully handle home, regional, and worldwide challenges, each conventional and non-traditional.
“We stay up for elevated high-level exchanges between our militaries and safety businesses to supply route for related cooperation,” he emphasised.
The ambassador mentioned China would leverage the seventieth anniversary of the Nigerian Navy to advertise extra skilled interactions between the 2 navies and welcome extra Nigerian officers to review in Chinese language army establishments.
He mentioned that China would proceed to optimise visa facilitation insurance policies, assist the Nigerian public higher perceive and utilise related preparations, in addition to enhance consular doc providers.
It’s noteworthy that the 12 months 2026 is the Yr of the Horse within the Chinese language lunar calendar.
In Chinese language tradition, the horse symbolises galloping ahead, gaining success with each step, and reaching even higher accomplishments.
Yu expressed confidence that within the new 12 months, the China-Nigeria complete strategic partnership would attain a better stage by way of their joint efforts
He added that deepening partnership with Nigeria would write a extra splendid chapter in constructing a high-level China-Nigeria group with a shared future.
Analysts say that with growth cooperation being the important thing pillar of China-Nigeria relations, the notable achievements recorded in 2025 will deepen and strengthen bilateral ties between the 2 nations, going ahead.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Mark Longyen
