The Nigerian ambassador to China, Mr Aminu Wali, has said that trade between the two countries is worth $10 billion annually, which he said is in favour of China.
According to reports monitored in Lagos on Monday, Wali said in Beijing that the volume of trade between the two countries had been on the increase in the last three years due to the existing bilateral trade agreement between them.
“The volume of trade between Nigeria and China is quite big and it is expanding. We have lots of bilateral trade agreements which have increased the volume of trade.
“According to the Chinese authority, $10 billion is being generated annually in favour of the Chinese.
“Given the present growth rate, Nigeria will become China’s biggest trading partner in Africa in the next two to three years,’’ the ambassador said.
He said the Chinese government had packaged incentives including tax relief to facilitate trade.
The envoy also said that bilateral agreement on education as well as cultural exchanges had paved way for the influx of Nigerians into China, noting that over 1,000 Nigerians were studying in various parts of China.
Wali, however, said that some students failed to notify the embassy of their presence thereby making it difficult to determine the exact number of Nigerians studying in China.
He described the relationship between nationals of both countries as “quite cordial except for the activities of illegal immigrants’’
Source African Press Agency
