"There is no better mirror than a best friend," says an African proverb.
From all indications, the axiom appears quite apt while assessing the current state of Nigeria-China relations, which have spanned over five decades.
This is because the bilateral relations existing between Nigeria and People's Republic of China, which began after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations in February 1971, have significantly flourished to a level that culminated in the attainment of a Strategic Partnership in 2005; lately upgraded into a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership".
It is pertinent to note that in September 2023 -- on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing – Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, signed the joint statement on the ratification of the partnership upgrade.
The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, who also witnessed the event in Beijing, said that the upgrade of the Nigeria-China relations to the "Comprehensive" level represented a boost to the decades-long bilateral relations between the two countries, which have entered a "New Era".
It will be recalled that at the FOCAC summit in Beijing, President Tinubu and President Xi issued a joint statement, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and People's Republic of China, regarding the building a high-level China-Nigeria community with a shared future.
The joint statement particularly covered and focused on four aspects -- high-level strategic mutual trust, high-level development cooperation, high-level mutual assistance and high-level mutual understanding – which underscored the essence of establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership, while mapping out the blueprint for the future development of Nigeria-China relations in the new era.
The validation of the new era strategic partnership between the two sides entailed the adoption of 13 cooperation documents, covering areas such as high-quality Belt and Road Initiative cooperation and planning, the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, economic growth, human resources, application of the Beiduo Satellite Navigation System, export of peanuts to China and media exchanges.
In addition to the 13 cooperation documents, one particular aspect of the partnership entails about 19 projects, which Nigeria and China are jointly executing.Shortly after his return from the FOCAC summit in Beijing, President Tinubu adopted a proactive approach to ensure that the cooperation agreements, which were signed, were duly implemented.
Accordingly, President Tinubu approved the establishment of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP) and appointed Mr. Joseph Tegbe, as its Global Liaison and Director-General, with a mandate of overseeing the implementation of the signed agreements through engagement with the Chinese counterparts, while ensuring the alignment of all deliverables with national development goalsIn addition, in the strategic plan, the NCSP is expected to outline specific deliverables, timeliness and key performance indicators for each area of cooperation, including priority projects, projected investments and expected socio-economic outcomes...
Tegbe, the Director-General of NCSP, who spoke on his assignment in a recent interview with a Chinese media outfit in Beijing, emphasized that there were 54 programmes and projects that were approved in the MOUs which were signed between the two countries.
He added that these encompassed projects in infrastructure, agriculture, health care, education, mining, manufacturing and technology sectors, among others. He underscored the wisdom in creating the NCSP office to coordinate and ensure the proper implementation of the projects and programmes, recalling that in the past when such partnerships were created, the perceptible lacuna was the absence of a central point for their coordination.
Tegbe, reiterated that his central role was to ensure the coordination of all NCSP projects and programmes, while overseeing their hitch-free implementation.
He emphasized that his secondary role as the D-G of NCSP was to ensure that the business and economic relations between Nigeria and China were properly evaluated and monitored, so as to ensure value for money and promote a win-win relationship between the two countries.
As the Nigeria-China relations continue to grow and flourish over the years, observers note that landmark achievements have been recorded in the execution of several projects, which are either ongoing or completed.
They point at the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line, Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge rail line, rehabilitation of six airport terminals rehabilitation, Lekki Deep Seaport, Abuja-Keffi-Makurdi expressway, Abuja rail mass transit and Lagos rail mass transit as accomplishments.
Other feats are recorded in infrastructure development, agro-industry, education, technology transfer, healthcare and telecommunication, among other development projects, they add.
All in all, analysts have expressed optimism that the mutual bond between Nigeria and China will continue to flourish via the pragmatic adoption of mutually beneficial practices that are based on inclusiveness, equal opportunities, people-to-people engagements and mutual respect for one another; all in the face of the diversity of cultures and political systems. Obviously, there exists a new epoch in Nigeria-China relations that would be mutually beneficial to the two nations, under the aegis of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Sale is an Abuja-based Global Affairs Analyst (lawalmaida1@yahoo.com)
