by Yu Dunhai

To many Chinese friends, Nigeria is no stranger. As the most populous country and a major economy in Africa, as well as a leading power in West Africa, Nigeria has been playing an important role in regional and international affairs over the years.

The country is blessed with a long history, a vast land, rich natural resources, multiple ethnic nationalities and a splendid culture, just like China. Known as the "Super Eagles" to many Chinese football fans, the Nigerian men's football team won the Africa Cup of Nations three times in 1980, 1994 and 2013 respectively, and the team also won the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Nigeria is also hailed as the cradle of cultures in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1986, the Nobel Prize in Literature went to Wole Soyinka, the famous Nigerian writer.

China shares a long-standing friendship with Nigeria. In history, the two countries both suffered from colonialism, so their friendship began with a common endeavor in the last century for national liberation and national independence. Oct. 1 is both China's National Day and Nigeria's Independence Day. Since the two countries established diplomatic ties on Feb. 10, 1971, their relations have stood the test of changes in the international landscape and gone from strength to strength. Furthermore, over the years, China-Nigeria relations have stood at the forefront of China-Africa relations.

In the field of politics, the two countries have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges with deepened political mutual trust. In May 2023, on the sidelines of his inauguration, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu met with Peng Qinghua, special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress. In July this year, the president received China's Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong. In October 2023, Nigeria's Vice President Kashim Shettima attended the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China on behalf of Tinubu, and he was received by Xi and Vice President Han Zheng respectively, making his trip a complete success. In June this year, Nigeria's Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar visited China and held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The two foreign ministers co-chaired the first plenary session of the China-Nigeria Intergovernmental Committee, which further promoted the political trust and mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries.

In the field of economy and trade, mutually beneficial cooperation yielded fruitful results. In 2018, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), making Nigeria a member of the Belt and Road family. Over the years, Chinese companies have constructed many signature projects in Nigeria, including the Lekki Deep Sea Port, the Abuja Metro Line, the Lagos Rail Mass Transit, the Abuja-Kaduna Railway, the Lagos-Ibadan Railway, the Zungeru Hydropower Plant, the National Data Center in Kano, and the free trade zones (industrial parks) in Lekki, Ogun and Sagamu.

The projects are the fruitful results of China-Nigeria practical cooperation and the friendship between the two peoples. Nigeria is China's second-largest export market in Africa, and it is also a major investment destination and a major trading partner of China in the continent. The practical cooperation between China and Nigeria serves as a model of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Africa.

Thanks to people-to-people exchanges, the people in China and Nigeria have known each other better with closer communications. Cultural centers have been established in each other's capital, and Chinese and Nigerian universities have co-founded two Confucius Institutes in Nigeria. Enthusiasm for learning the Chinese language among Nigerian people keeps growing, with the number of Nigerian students studying in China exceeding 7,500. A large number of Nigerian citizens are doing business in China, and the two sides co-hosted a series of cultural events such as the "Happy Chinese New Year" Temple Fair, the Chinese Film Festival, and the "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition, which have brought hearts much closer.

The 20th CPC Central Committee adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization at its third plenary session in July this year, demonstrating the missions, the responsibilities and the strong resolve of the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core to follow through on the reform. Meanwhile, the Nigerian government is implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda proposed by Tinubu, which is a testament to his administration's political ambition to deepen reforms and achieve economic growth.

The summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing this autumn as our two countries are simultaneously pursuing national reform and development. After six years, back in the Chinese capital, leaders from China and African countries will once again renew their friendships and plan future development. The leaders of China and Nigeria will also hold talks to share governance experience, compare notes on national rejuvenation, and expand bilateral relations.

It is believed that with joint efforts, China and Nigeria will certainly further deepen cooperation in such areas as industry, agriculture, infrastructure, financing, poverty reduction, technological innovation, digital development and blue economy, and jointly build a high-level China-Nigeria community with a shared future.

In the vast ocean of historical trends, the ship of friendship and cooperation between China and Nigeria will sail forward in a steady and sustained way. Long live the China-Nigeria friendship!

Editor's note: Yu Dunhai is the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.

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