By: Ganiyu Olayinka
Bilateral trade between Nigeria and China climbed to $18 billion in the first half of 2026, a 35% rise over the same period last year, according to China’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai.
Yu disclosed the figures at a reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. He said Chinese imports from Nigeria grew even faster, jumping 81% during the period. “In the first half of this year, our bilateral trade reached $18 billion, up by 35 per cent, with Chinese imports from Nigeria surging by 81 per cent,” he said.
The envoy credited the growth to a deepening economic relationship between the two countries and recent moves to reinforce the institutional framework guiding bilateral trade, pointing to new agreements on economic partnership and aquatic exports as further support for expanding trade ties.
Yu also spotlighted China’s move to grant zero-tariff treatment to 53 African countries, effective May 1, saying the policy had already delivered results, with China’s imports from Africa rising 24% in May and June alone. “China has implemented zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries, starting May 1. The impact was immediate. China’s import from Africa grew by 24 per cent in May and June alone,” he said.
He argued the policy could help African nations convert their natural resource strengths into greater industrial capacity, while supporting the rollout of the African Continental Free Trade Area. China’s approach to Africa, he said, rests on equality, mutual benefit and solidarity, with Beijing remaining committed to backing African integration and self-reliant development.
Yu said people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa were also driving the flow of knowledge, technology and capital, citing open-source artificial intelligence, digital payments and solar energy as examples of Chinese technologies that could help tackle development challenges across the continent.
On bilateral relations, the ambassador said Nigeria and China had grown closer over 55 years of diplomatic ties, with both sides deepening practical cooperation. “Celebrating the 55th year of diplomatic ties, China and Nigeria have grown closer through mutual respect and shared success. Under the strategic leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our relationship has entered the fast lane,” he said.
He praised the Tinubu administration’s structural reforms, macroeconomic stabilisation measures and efforts to improve Nigeria’s business environment, saying they had supported the country’s economic recovery and created favourable conditions for deeper cooperation with China. “We highly commend President Tinubu’s structural reforms, macroeconomic stabilization and business environment enhancements, which have boosted Nigeria’s economic recovery and created optimal conditions for deeper cooperation,” he said, adding that China was ready to align its development cooperation with Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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