Abuja — Trade between Nigeria and China has hit the $3 Billion mark, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Wang Yongqiu has said.

Yongqui said this at a reception organised to commemorate 35-years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

According to Yongqiu, steady increase in the economic interaction between Nigeria and China is an indication of the extent of the countries' economic cooperation.

He said "looking back, we can see there were steady increases in economic interaction between our two peoples. For example,, in 1960, our bilateral trade volume was less than U$1 million.

"In 1970, it reached $4.5 million while in the last decade, it had grown rapidly.

"In 1998, the volume was $384 million and by 2001, it recorded a break-through of $1 billion. In 2004, another breakthrough was recorded as the two- way trade between the two countries reached $2 billion. By the end of last year, our bilateral trade has reached approximately $3 billion," he said.

Yongqui said Nigerian exports to China, excluding oil, has more than quadrupled, saying the Chinese government was ready to help Nigeria develop its non-oil sector, and import more agricultural products from Nigeria.

Besides, the envoy said China had made enormous direct invests in various sectors of the Nigerian economy, adding that Nigeria was one of the most important recipient country of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in Africa. Chinese investments include such fields as oil and gas, iron and steel, machine manufacturing, cement, consumer electronics, motorcycle assembling, ocean fishing, pharmaceutics, telecommunications equipment, and so on. Statistics show that total volume of Chinese investment in Nigeria has exceeded USD 3 Billion. The most prominent characteristic of China economic cooperation with Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, is its unreserved transfer of technology to the African countries.

On the issue of Nigeria relations with Taiwan, the Ambassador deplored the 1990 MOU between Nigeria and Taiwan saying it was a ââ?¬Å"derailment of Nigeria one-China policy and a regrettable set back in the development of or bilateral relations.

The so-called ââ?¬Å"Trade Missionââ?¬? of Taiwan in Abuja now becomes a platform for Taiwanese secessionists activities in Nigeria and West Africa, not to mention its constant irritating effects on the sound development of our cordial relationship. What the so-called Trade Mission is doing in Abuja is to try to have official relations with Nigeria or create a misconception that Nigeria has diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Yongqiu said last month, China signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigeria on the Establishment of Strategic Partnership. Nigeria becomes the first African country to sign such pact with China.