Trade between Nigeria and China increased 35 percent to $18 billion in the first half of 2026, following the implementation of China’s zero-tariff policy for African countries, said China’s ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai.
Dunhai disclosed this at a one-day international seminar on “China’s zero tariff treatment for African countries and its implications for structural economic transformation in Africa”, organized by the China Studies Center in Abuja.
He said the development reflected the immediate impact of the policy, which came into effect on May 1, 2026, adding that Chinese imports from Nigeria rose 80 percent to $2.3 billion during the period.
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According to him, the monthly growth of Nigerian exports to China exceeded 40 percent in both May and June, while trade between China and Africa reached a record $207 billion in the first half of the year.
He said Chinese imports from Africa amounted to $29 billion between May and June, representing a 24 percent year-on-year increase, while the zero-tariff policy had boosted overall African exports to China by about six percent.
Dunhai said the policy, announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 14, 2026, gave zero tariff treatment to all tariff lines of African countries with diplomatic relations with China.
He described the initiative as a strategic milestone in China-Africa relations and said it was designed to promote economic development, industrialization and mutually beneficial cooperation.
For Nigeria, he said the policy had already translated into concrete savings for exporters, citing sesame, cattle bone pellets and liquefied propane among the products benefiting from tariff concessions.
“Every hundred tons of sesame export saves $11,000 in costs. Nigeria’s annual export of 7,000 tons of cattle bone pellets saves almost $450,000 in costs. And on the first day of the policy, a single shipment of 23,000 tons of Nigerian liquefied propane saved $300,000 in taxes,” Dunhai said.
He also revealed that Nigeria and China had signed a protocol on inspection and quarantine requirements for wild aquatic products exported from Nigeria to China, describing it as an important step towards expanding Nigeria’s access to the Chinese market.
Dunhai, however, stressed that Nigeria needed to improve product quality, supply chain reliability and local processing capacity to sustain the benefits of the policy.
“Meeting Chinese market standards and ensuring reliable supply volumes are essential for long-term success,” he said, adding that China was ready to provide technical support for standardized production.
He also called for greater local processing and industrialization, saying China was willing to work with Nigerian partners to establish joint industrial parks and provide equipment, technology and training to process raw materials locally.
The ambassador urged Nigerian businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, to take advantage of platforms such as the China International Import Expo, Canton Fair and China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo to connect with Chinese buyers.
Additionally, he advocated for stronger institutional cooperation on trade facilitation, investment protection and quarantine standards, saying this would help create a stable environment for investors.
Dunhai said Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous country and a major economy, was positioned to become a major beneficiary of the zero-tariff policy.
He said the initiative was also shifting China-Africa economic relations from traditional aid and raw materials trade towards structural integration, value addition and shared industrial development.
Also the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, said that Nigeria must take advantage of the opportunity provided by the policy to move from the export of raw materials to the export of value-added products.
Ahmed, represented at the seminar, said the critical question was not simply how much Africa could export to China, but “what Africa will produce, how it will produce it and how much value will be retained within African economies.”
He said President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda focused on weaning Nigeria away from dependence on the export of unprocessed commodities by encouraging investments that would establish manufacturing capacity, develop industrial value chains and create jobs.
“Our natural resources must become the starting point, not the end, of economic activity,” he said.
Ahmed said Nigeria was seeking investments that would establish factories, processing plants, technology centers and logistics networks, while creating skilled employment and strengthening local businesses.
He described Nigeria as well positioned to serve as a manufacturing and investment hub for Africa due to its large consumer market, natural resources, business population, strategic location and membership in the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the zero tariff initiative offered Nigeria the opportunity to diversify its exports beyond crude oil and accelerate agro-industrial development.
He said the country needed to stop exporting raw agricultural products and focus on processed products that could compete in the international market.
“Therefore, the question before us is not ‘Can Nigeria export more?’ The question should be ‘Can Nigeria export better?’” Abdullahi said.
He identified processed cassava derivatives, premium rice, spices, shea products, hibiscus, cashew, soybean products, fruits and vegetables as some of the products Nigeria could develop for the Chinese market.
The minister warned, however, that zero tariffs alone would not guarantee export success, and emphasized the need for greater agricultural productivity, modern processing industries, efficient logistics, quality assurance, traceability, competitive financing, storage infrastructure and compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
He said the Federal Government was expanding agro-processing capacity through the Special Agro Processing Zones programme, with projects initiated or in advanced stages in Kaduna, Cross River, Ogun and Gombe states.
Abdullahi also said the government was reforming the agricultural cooperative sector to allow small farmers to benefit from economies of scale, while launching a mechanization program involving 2,000 Belarusian tractors and equipment.
Earlier, China Studies Center Director Charles Onunaiju said China’s zero-tariff policy should be seen as a starting point and not the end of Africa’s efforts to expand exports and achieve structural transformation.
“Zero tariff treatment for products from Africa is just the starting point, it is not the goal,” Onunaiju said.
He urged African countries to make the necessary policy changes to seize the opportunity, including improving standards, harmonizing customs agreements and strengthening regional economic integration under the AfCFTA.
Onunaiju said Africa’s opportunity went beyond increasing exports, arguing that the continent could use access to the Chinese market to develop manufacturing capacity and become “the world’s next workshop”.
Chairman of the occasion and former Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Jonathan Mela Juma, said Nigeria had learned lessons from its experience with the African Growth and Opportunity Act and should ensure that the opportunity provided by China was fully exploited.
He urged the country to take advantage of its comparative advantage in agriculture to expand production and exports.
“Nigeria is a place where you can drop a seed and, without much care, reap it at the end of the day. What can we do with this? What can we offer to the world? What can we offer to China?” asked.
Representing the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the Supervising Director of the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Dr Samson Ebimaro, said Nigeria welcomed the Chinese initiative as an opportunity to deepen economic and trade relations between the two countries.
He said Nigeria had significant productive potential in agriculture, agro-processing, solid minerals, manufacturing, leather and creative industries, but needed to improve production capacity, infrastructure, logistics, financing, technology transfer and compliance with international standards.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Nigeria-China Relations, Hon. Ja’afaru Yakubu, said the policy could support export diversification, value addition, manufacturing expansion and participation in global value chains.
Yakubu also appealed to the Chinese embassy to address visa issues affecting Nigerian traders, particularly those from northern Nigeria, saying easier movement of businessmen between the two countries would contribute to greater trade.
He said the House Committee would continue to work with the Chinese Embassy to address challenges and strengthen trade relations between Nigeria and China.
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