The Charge d’Affairs of the Embassy of China, Mr Lin Jing, has described the relations between Nigeria and China as a pace-setter for the overall China-Africa solidarity and cooperation.
Jing stated this at the 69th National Day of the Peoples Republic of China in Abuja on Thursday.
He said the deepened cooperation has resulted in construction of railways such as the Abuja-Kaduna railway, Abuja light rail, Lagos-Ibadan Railway, Zungeru Hydropower and four airport terminals, among other ongoing projects.
He recalled the agreement signed by leaders of the two countries, Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Xi Jinping at the just-concluded Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and ICT backbone infrastructure.
The Charge d’Affairs announced that China is today a $13trn economy, highest forex reserve holder in the world, and has foreign trade volume of $4.3 billion making it the biggest trading partner to many nations in the world.
He explained that the country lifted 700 million people out of poverty with steady growth at 6.8 percent- a medium high for 12 consecutive quarters year-on-year which resulted in 10 million new jobs created in 2018 alone.
He said China will continue to follow a ‘five-no’ approach in her Africa relations by non-intereference and not “seeking selfish political gains in investment and financing cooperation with Africa.”
“I would like to highlight that, against the backdrop of notable changes in the global economic and trade context, we are firmly committed to economic globalisation, free trade, and innovation-driven development,” he said.
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