The Chinese Consulate in Lagos hosted a forum in view of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan of the People’s Republic of China (2026–2030) in respect of its implications for deepening China–Nigeria cooperation.
Over the past two decades, China has remained one of Nigeria’s most strategic partners in trade, investment, and infrastructure development. The numbers speak clearly. Thereby, when the Director-General Sola Obadimu led a Secretariat team to visit the Chinese Consul-General, Ms. Yan Yuqing in Lagos early October, Her Excellency invited the DG to be present to deliver some remarks.
At the remarkable but brief event, the National President Engr. Jani Ibrahim was ably represented by the 1st Deputy President of NACCIMA, Dr. Chief Tamunoemi Membere-Otaji.
In his speech delivered at the event, the DG thanked and appreciated the Consul-General for her cooperation and support in respect of visas for the Association’s delegates presently in China for the Canton Fair as led by the National President. He then highlighted the fact that Nigerian/Chinese partnership has gone far beyond commerce. Through initiatives such as the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), transformative investments had taken place in Nigeria’s critical sectors ranging from railways to airport terminals, power infrastructure and industrial parks, etc. Significantly, China’s investment stock in Nigeria now spans across manufacturing, mining, technology and agriculture, etc.
Thereby, looking forward to the 2026–2030 planning horizon, China’s Fifteenth Five-Year Plan is expected to prioritize high-quality development, technological self-reliance, green transition, and inclusive growth. These priorities strongly align with Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021–2025), which both emphasize industrialization, export diversification, and digital transformation.
Therefore, there’s need to expand people-to-people and knowledge exchange. The future of our cooperation must be anchored on human capital and mutual understanding. educational exchange, vocational training, and cultural collaboration remain vital bridges between our nations. There’s need to expand scholarship opportunities, research linkages and technology incubation programmes that will ensure that our partnership is sustained by shared knowledge, not dependency.
Also present were Tunde Rahman, Senior Special Adviser on Media and Special Duties, to the President of the Federal Republic; Eze Anaba, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors; Ms. Song Jianing, Bureau Chief of the China Media Group, Africa and Otunba Toyin Akomolafe, former President of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), etc.
