Nigeria’s exports to China rise 81% to $2.25bn

By Favour Ulebor, Abuja Nigeria’s exports to China rose by 81 per cent to $2.25 billion in the first half of 2026, while bilateral trade between both countries increased by 35 per cent to $17.4 billion, the Chinese Embassy has said. The Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria and Director of the China Cultural Centre in Nigeria, Mr Yang Jiaxing, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the 2026 launch ceremony of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) China-Nigeria Bridge Programme.

Yang attributed the growth to expanding economic cooperation between the two countries, saying China’s zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries, including Nigeria, which took effect in May 2026, would create more opportunities for Nigerian exports. He said China’s trade with African countries reached $207.4 billion in the first half of 2026, while imports from the continent rose to $28.5 billion between May and June.

According to him, imports from Nigeria recorded year-on-year growth of more than 40 per cent in both May and June, reflecting stronger trade relations between the two countries. He said: “In the first half of this year, bilateral trade between China and Nigeria reached $17.4 billion, up 35 per cent year-on-year. China’s imports from Nigeria amounted to $2.25 billion, representing a remarkable increase of 81 per cent.” Yang described the China-Nigeria Bridge Programme as a platform for promoting cultural understanding, media cooperation and closer relations between citizens of both countries.

The programme, jointly initiated by the Chinese Embassy, the Africa Regional Bureau of Xinhua News Agency and VON, provides Mandarin lessons and reports on China-Africa relations. Also speaking, the Director-General of VON, Jibrin Baba Ndace, said the introduction of Mandarin as the organisation’s ninth broadcast language would strengthen Nigeria’s international presence and enable it to communicate its stories to a wider audience.

Ndace, who was represented by the Director of General Services, Alhaji Danladi Abubakar, said the service would promote Nigeria’s culture, tourism, business opportunities and national image among Chinese-speaking audiences. He said the initiative followed agreements reached between Nigeria and China at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Beijing.

According to him, VON also signed agreements with Xinhua News Agency and the Chinese Embassy in 2026 to promote content sharing, staff training, broadcasting capacity and media cooperation. In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Press Council, Dili Ezughah, described the programme as an important step towards strengthening cultural diplomacy and people-to-people relations.

He urged the partners to sustain the initiative, saying its success should be measured by its ability to promote mutual understanding and lasting relationships between citizens of both countries.