The representative of the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria and the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Yan Yuqing, has said the bilateral trade between Nigeria and China stood at $22.6bn in 2023.
Yuqing also said Nigeria had maintained its position as China’s third-largest trading partner in Africa.
She disclosed this in Lagos at the arrival ceremony of CMA CGM Scandola, the largest container vessel to call at a Nigerian port.
It was reported that in November 2023, the top exports of China to Nigeria were synthetic filament yarn woven fabric ($160m), pesticides ($84.1m), non-knit women’s suits ($81.5m), mobile telephone devices ($67.2m), and artificial hair ($59m).
In November 2023, the top imports of China from Nigeria were petroleum gas ($95.8m), crude petroleum ($71.5m), niobium, tantalum, vanadium, and zirconium ore ($13.5m), zinc ore ($13.1m), and raw aluminum ($12.6m).
She, however, said that with the deployment of the CMA/CGM West Africa Express service direct from China to Lagos, the $1.5bn Lekki Port has become critical to growing the trade volume between Nigeria and China.
“The volume of bilateral trade between Nigeria and China stood at $22.6bn in 2023, according to statistics from the Chinese Customs Authority.
China further maintained its position as the top global trading partner and Nigeria stands as the third-largest trading partner for China in Africa,” she said.
