Nigeria Government has pledged its commitment to narrow its trade imbalance with China by maximising the country’s zero-tariff policy and increasing the country’s exports to the Chinese market.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to China, Abdulrahman Dambazau, disclosed this during an interview with the members of the Nigerian delegation participating in the African Mainstream Media Workshop organised by the International Department of the Communist Party of China in Beijing on Thursday.
Dambazau said bilateral trade between Nigeria and China currently stood at about 28 billion dollars, but noted that Nigeria accounted for only about three billion dollars of the total trade volume.
He described the imbalance as a major concern requiring deliberate efforts to expand Nigeria’s export capacity.
According to him, the zero-tariff policy introduced by China presents an opportunity for Nigerian businesses to increase exports if they understand and comply with the policy requirements.
“We have to study the policy itself, understand the conditions and requirements and then take the information to our farmers, traders and exporters so they can take advantage of it,” he said.
He also disclosed that the embassy had commenced engagements to examine the implementation framework of the policy and promote awareness among relevant stakeholders.
He said Nigeria must strengthen production, improve product quality and increase value addition to maximise the benefits offered by the initiative.
Dambazau added that the embassy would continue working with government institutions and the private sector to ensure Nigeria secured greater gains from its economic partnership with China.
