Sunday Ehigiator
The Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos, Ms Yan Yuqing, has reaffirmed China’s commitment to deeper cooperation with Nigeria and Africa at large, pledging that the next phase of China’s development agenda will open wider doors for shared innovation, industrial growth, and human capital exchange.
Speaking at the ‘Global Dialogue: Jointly Drawing the Blueprint, Sharing the Development’, held in Lagos recently, Yuqing outlined the major goals of China’s forthcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, emphasising “innovation, openness, and shared development” as the pillars of China’s global engagement strategy.
The event was co-hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in Lagos and the China Media Group (CMG), drawing senior government officials, media leaders, and business representatives from both countries.
Yuqing highlighted that the just-concluded 14th Five-Year Plan marked a transformative era in China’s modernisation drive, citing growth in innovation, green energy, social welfare, and poverty eradication.
She disclosed that China’s GDP had reached 140 trillion yuan (about $19.6 trillion), while its contribution to global growth remained around 30 per cent.
“China has evolved from an impoverished agricultural country into the world’s largest manufacturing economy and the second-largest economy. Our five-year plans have provided strategic certainty and stability to a turbulent world,” Yuqing said.
She said the 15th Five-Year Plan, adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, sets seven main development goals, including high-quality growth, scientific self-reliance, social civility, and environmental sustainability.
The Plan, she noted, aligns with Nigeria’s “Renewed Hope” Agenda” and its eight priority areas, particularly in industrialisation, agriculture, and digital transformation.
Yuqing pledged stronger cooperation in infrastructure, green economy, and technology, noting that bilateral trade between China and Nigeria reached $22.5 billion in 2023, with a 29.4 per cent increase recorded in the first half of 2025.
“China will continue to share its development opportunities with the world. As we mark 55 years of China-Nigeria diplomatic relations in 2026, our partnership will grow stronger, greener, and more people-centred,” she said.
In his address, Nigeria’s Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, commended China’s model of strategic planning and innovation, describing it as a roadmap for sustainable progress.
He lauded China’s investment in youth capacity building, citing the thousands of Nigerian students and professionals who have benefited from Chinese scholarships and training programmes.
“Our young people are the heartbeat of our nation. By combining Nigeria’s creativity with China’s innovations and experience, we can shape a new global narrative of shared prosperity,” Olawande said.
Also speaking at the event, Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Special Duties, Mr. Tunde Rahman, noted that China’s planned emphasis on technological innovation and digital infrastructure provides Africa with unique opportunities to accelerate development.
He, however, called for debt sustainability, local content participation, and stronger environmental safeguards in China-Africa projects.
“Africa must ensure that projects driven by Chinese companies benefit local communities through technology transfer and capacity building,” Rahman emphasised.
The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Eze Anaba, while speaking, underscored the vital role of media in promoting mutual understanding between both nations. He said Nigerian journalists’ exposure to China’s development model through exchange programmes had deepened appreciation for its discipline, creativity, and reform-minded governance.
On his part, the Director General of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Sola Obadimu, stressed the need for “deeper, greener, and more innovative” trade relations, aligned with Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021–2025).
He highlighted China’s potential to support Nigeria’s transition to renewable energy and digital competitiveness, adding that both countries should move from a “resource-based to a value-driven partnership. China’s next development chapter must inspire industrial growth and sustainable prosperity across Nigeria and Africa,” Obadimu stated.
