Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has stated that the country is focusing on exporting “finished products” to China and other parts of the world.
This was disclosed in a video uploaded on his official X page on September 6, 2024, amid President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to China and his participation in the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, held from September 4-6, 2024.
This announcement comes after Nigeria and China recently signed several Memoranda of Understanding in Beijing, covering the Belt and Road Initiative, nuclear energy cooperation, human resource development, and media exchange.
Tuggar’s view on Nigeria-China relations
While in China, President Tinubu emphasized Nigeria’s economic potential as the most populous country in Africa and the largest economy on the continent.
He highlighted that Nigeria’s youthful population could drive growth across various sectors and boost trade opportunities.
“Nigeria holds great potential as the country with the largest population in Africa and is the biggest economy, with a very young population that can drive economic growth and cross-sectoral programs,” President Tinubu said.
In the recent video, Tuggar dismissed concerns about “exploitation in Nigeria’s relationship with China”, emphasizing that both nations have clear goals regarding exports.
“We’re not children, so there’s no need to look at us from an infantile perspective. We know exactly what we want, and we seek partnerships with countries like China, who understand that we don’t want to remain exporters of primary resources,” he said.
The minister explained that Nigeria’s primary foreign trade goal is to export finished products to China and other countries of interest.
“We want to add value, create jobs, and manufacture. Our aim is to export finished products to countries like China,” he asserted.
According to the minister, China is the largest market in the world, and he believes that China understands Nigeria’s readiness to engage in the shared export of finished goods with other countries.
“Our approach is one of strategic autonomy,” he added.
Tuggar stressed that Nigeria will continue to seek partnerships with countries that can work together for mutual development.
“Nigeria seeks partners like China, who understand our goal to move beyond exporting raw materials. With our strategic autonomy, we are ready to collaborate with all nations to drive development and growth,” Tuggar stressed.
What you should know
This announcement follows Nigeria’s export of agricultural products worth N572.58 billion to the Asian market, including China, according to data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
China has maintained strong commercial ties with Nigeria over the years. In the first quarter of 2024, China ranked as Nigeria’s top trading partner in terms of imports, followed by India, the United States, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Analysis by trading partners reveals that imports from China were valued at N2,930.10 billion, representing 23.18% of total imports.
“The data showed that most agricultural products were exported to Asia, valued at N572.58 billion, followed by exports to Europe with N366.11 billion,” the NBS report for Q1 2024 stated.
Further analysis showed that ‘sesamum seeds’ worth N83.29 billion and N58.04 billion were exported to China and Japan, respectively, during the period under review.
