On 10 August 2024, I departed Beijing and landed in Abuja-from a city near the western side of the Pacific, to a capital adjacent to the eastern side of the Atlantic-and started my journey as the 15th Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, with a lofty mission on my shoulder and great excitement in my heart. Upon arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, I deeply felt the hospitality of the Nigerian people and their friendship with China, which boosted my confidence in my tenure in the coming years.
There is much common ground between China and Nigeria and between our two peoples. China is the second largest economy and one of the most populous countries in the world, while Nigeria is a major economy and the most populous country in Africa. Both our countries are blessed with vast land, ancient history, rich natural resources, multiple ethnic nationalities and splendid culture. Both Chinese and Nigerian people cherish peace and yearn for development. They are both hospitable people and treat each other as brothers. Meanwhile, 1st October is China's National Day and Nigeria's Independence Day respectively. Although separated by oceans, the two countries and two peoples are closely linked by these similarities. Therefore, since the establishment of diplomatic ties on 10 February 1971, our relations have stood the test of changes in the international landscape and gone from strength to strength. Furthermore, over the years China-Nigeria relations have stood at the forefront of China-Africa relations.
In 2018, our two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Nigeria joined the Belt and Road family. In October 2023, Vice President Shettima attended the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China on behalf of President Tinubu, which was a complete success. In June this year, Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar visited China and held talks with H.E. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The two foreign ministers co-chaired the first plenary session of the China-Nigeria Intergovernmental Committee, which further promoted the political mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries.
Upon arriving in Abuja, I witnessed its modern international airport, built by a Chinese enterprise. The airport is just one of the flagship projects constructed by Chinese companies through China-Nigeria cooperation, which include the Lekki Deep Sea Port, the Abuja Metro Line, the Lagos Rail Mass Transit, the Zungeru Hydropower Plant, the National Data Centre in Kano, and the Lekki and Ogun industrial parks, etc. The projects stand as a testament to the fruitful results of China-Nigeria practical cooperation and the friendship between our two peoples. Nigeria is China's third largest trading partner in Africa, with bilateral trade amounting to 22.56 billion US dollars in 2023. The country is also China's second largest export market and a major investment destination in Africa, and the number of projects contracted by China in Nigeria ranks first in Africa. Featuring enormous potential and a bright future, the practical cooperation between China and Nigeria serves as a role model of high-quality Belt and Road Cooperation.
People-to-people friendship holds the key to state-to-state relations. After the Covid-19 pandemic, we have closer cultural exchanges. We have established cultural centers in each other's capital and Chinese and Nigerian universities have co-founded two Confucius Institutes in Nigeria, and Nigerian people's enthusiasm for learning Chinese language keeps on growing. The number of Nigerian students learning in China reached its peak at more than 7500, and a large number of Nigerian citizens are doing business in China. We have co-hosted with the Nigerian side a series of cultural events such as the "Happy Chinese New Year" Temple Fair, the Chinese Film Festival and the "Chinese Bridge"-Chinese Proficiency Competition, which have largely brought our hearts closer. I am expecting more Nigerian friends to pay a visit to China and act as the envoys connecting China-Nigeria friendship.
China and Africa enjoy a long-standing friendship. In the 1960s and 1970s, despite its economic hardship, China built the world-renowned Tazara Railway for its African brothers. In 2013, President Xi Jinping put forward the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith for China's Africa policy. Over the past decades, China and its African friends have stood together in weal and woe in the face of changes in the international landscape and joined hands to meet challenges. Taking into consideration the yearning for modernization among African countries, President Xi Jinping proposed in 2023 the Initiative on Supporting Africa's Industrialization, the Plan for China Supporting Africa's Agricultural Modernization, and the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development respectively, accelerating Africa's integration and modernization.
In September this year, the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing, at which Chinese and African leaders will jointly plan future China-Africa development after the previous summit held six years ago. Currently we are actively preparing for President Tinubu's state visit to China and his attendance of the Summit in September along with our Nigerian colleagues. I am confident that with our joint efforts, President Tinubu's visit is certainly to deepen our cooperation in such fields as industry, agriculture, infrastructure, financing, poverty reduction, technological innovation, digital development and blue economy, upgrading and expanding the depth and width of China-Nigeria cooperation, and bring more benefits to our two peoples. President Tinubu, as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), will also discuss with Chinese and African leaders about China-Africa cooperation and development.
In July this year, the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee was successfully held, with the adoption of an important resolution which included more than 300 important reform measures. The measures are aimed at further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese modernization. China strives for modernization through a path of peaceful development. The country will leverage the strengths of its enormous market and enhance the capacity to open up by expanding international cooperation. China's development plays an important role for the stability and prosperity of a multi-polar world. We will also continue to support Nigeria's social and economic development with concrete actions and share our development benefits with the country.
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When I passed by the majestic Zuma Rock, it reminds me of the Great Wall of China. Both of them represent the national character of tenacity possessed by our two peoples and symbolize our friendship. I look forward to meeting more Nigerian friends from government bodies, the National Assembly, the business community, the media, think-tanks, etc., visiting different states in Nigeria, and gaining more insights into its history, ethnic cultures and local customs. With the support of my like-minded Nigerian friends, I will make my utmost efforts to contribute to the resilient relations between China and Nigeria, to the profound friendship between our two peoples, and to the building of a high-level China-Nigeria community with a shared future.
·H.E. Dunhai is the new ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China to Nigeria
