Zhao Yong: China and Nigeria established diplomatic relations on February 10, 1971, and in 2005, the two countries issued a joint communiqué to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership. During the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly promoting the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Over the past 50 years, the two countries have enjoyed mutual understanding, mutual trust and mutual support. Especially, the recent years have seen rapid development of the bilateral relations under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, with frequent high-level exchanges and deepening political mutual trust. The Nigerian Government firmly adheres to one-China policy, and China actively supports Nigeria's efforts to maintain national peace and stability and pursue economic and social development. The two countries have carried out mutually beneficial cooperation in trade and economic development, security and culture, among other areas, which has brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

Nigeria is one of China's most important strategic partners in Africa and the cooperation between the two countries is among the strongest in breadth and depth in bilateral relationships between China and African countries. In particular, the cooperation in Abuja-Kaduna Railway, Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone, currency swap, satellite launch and joint maritime scientific research stands out in China-Africa cooperation. China-Nigeria cooperation has become an essential part of China-Africa cooperation and South-South cooperation.

In 2019, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries reached $19.27 billion, 1,900 times that at the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic ties, representing the highest growth rate among China's top 40 global trade partners, and accounting for 9.2 percent of China's trade volume with Africa and nearly 40 percent of China's trade volume with West Africa.

For many years, Nigeria has been the largest market in Africa for China's engineering contractors. The 186.5-km-long Chinese-built Abuja-Kaduna Railway completed in 2016 is the first modern railroad in Africa built totally with Chinese technology and Chinese standards. The Lekki Deep Sea Port built by Chinese companies, which started construction in October 2019, will become the largest port in West Africa after its completion. In addition, the two countries are also leading in terms of people-to-people exchanges, with Nigerian students studying in China over 6,800 in 2019, ranking first in Africa.

Nigeria was the first leg of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Africa at the beginning of this year. In what ways will Wang's visit further promote the development of relations between the two countries? 

Just after the New Year, Wang started his official visit to five African countries, including Nigeria. Wang's visit to Nigeria as the first stop of his first foreign visit in 2021 highlighted the significance of China-Nigeria ties and importance China attaches to Nigeria.

During the visit, Wang met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and held talks with Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama. Broad consensus was reached on reinforcing anti-pandemic cooperation, aligning national development plans, promoting cooperation under the Belt and Road framework, accelerating Nigeria's industrialization, as well as diversifying areas of economic cooperation to include digital and green economy. Consensus was also reached on closer cooperation on military and security to improve Nigeria's ability to maintain national security. The two countries will also strengthen coordination on global and regional affairs to protect the common interests of developing countries.

In particular, the two foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of an intergovernmental committee between the two countries. This is to provide a mechanism to mobilize resources and coordinate efforts of relevant parties.

Nigeria reported its first imported case of infection on February 27, 2020. As the epidemic spread, the Nigerian Government took measures such as lockdown of cities, suspension of flights and ban on the movement of people, and has well contained the first wave of the epidemic. This, however, has led to restricted movement of personnel and goods and affected the progress of China-Nigeria cooperation projects.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China and Nigeria have been supporting each other with solidarity. The Nigerian Government and people offered sincere support to China during the most difficult time in China's fight against the epidemic.

After the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, China shipped anti-epidemic emergency supplies in time. Video meetings on anti-pandemic technical exchanges held by China were attended by Nigeria's ministers. Solidarity in fighting the pandemic was reiterated at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 held in June last year, attended by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, and during Wang's visit to Nigeria early this year.

At present, China is boosting cooperation between hospitals of the two countries on combating the pandemic, and working to achieve the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in Nigeria and other African countries.

What will be the focus of cooperation between the two countries in 2021? 

China and Nigeria work in tandem in a wide range of areas. For 2021, the focus will be on implementing the agreements reached during Wang's visit to Nigeria. First, the two countries will further strengthen cooperation in the fight against the pandemic until it is completely over. Second, the two countries will deepen cooperation in building the Belt and Road together, accelerating the construction of key projects, and helping Nigeria speed up production resumption. Third, the two countries will expand military and security cooperation to improve Nigeria's ability to maintain national security. Lastly, the two countries will further collaborate in international and regional affairs and work together to safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

FOCAC has been an important platform for collective dialogue and an effective mechanism for practical cooperation between China and Africa, and it is also a good example of South-South cooperation. This year marks the conclusion of the implementation of the outcomes of the forum's Beijing summit in 2018. We expect that China and Africa can strengthen cooperation in health, agriculture, infrastructure, digital economy, clean energy and 5G this year. I believe that with the joint efforts of China and Africa, the next FOCAC meeting will go smoothly in Senegal and promote high-quality post-pandemic China-Africa cooperation, bringing more benefits to the people.

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