A Review of the Challenges of Nigeria-China Economic Relations in Contemporary times

Abstract

Nigeria finally established diplomatic ties with China in February, 1971, sine then both countries have opened embassies in each other’s capital. In this study, secondary sources of data was used which are drawn from books, newspapers, journals and other related materials on the topic under study. Data collected are descriptively analyzed to underscore the challenges of  the economic and trade relations between China and Nigeria. One of the major challenges is the present state of infrastructural facilities especially in the areas of power, rail network systems and communication in Nigeria which is very poor and if urgent steps are not taken to address these, it may get worse. Moreover, Nigeria rises up to these challenges, foreign investment inflow will continue to elude the country. Another challenge is the wide trade imbalance that continues to be in favour of China. On the whole, the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and sister agencies can learn from the trend of reform in China and create policies in such a manner that the economy of Nigeria becomes the focus of development. For instance, during the Chinese years of reform, foreign direct investment inflows to China were subjected to various rules and regulations including extensive plans on technological capacity building of Chinese, stringent local content requirements.