The head of the China Embassy case in Nigeria, Zhao Yong, in an interview with BUKOLA OGUNSINA, said Nigeria is China’s third-largest commercial wife after South Africa and Angola.The envoy talked about China, relations with Nigeria at the time of COVID-19., cooperation between the two countries in terms of infrastructure projects, Hong Kong problems and some of China’s visa policies, among others.
I saw that September 3rd of this year is a day, can you tell us the importance of this day?
On September 3, China celebrated the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people’s war of resistance opposed to Japanese aggression and global anti-phase warfare.We have history in mind, we honor all who gave their lives, we appreciate peace and it opens the future.
75 years ago, on September 3, the other Chinese, along with the rest of humanity, nevertheless won a general victory over fascism thanks to an unwavering will and a valiant struggle, it was a wonderful victory over evil, darkness and reaction.That day also marked a wonderful victory for the rigid other Chinese who fought tenaciously for 14 years and nevertheless defeated the Japanese militaristic aggressors.
War is the longest and highest vital combat of the other Chinese who oppose the foreign aggression of fashion times, which accompanied the greatest sacrifice, but which led to the first complete victory of the other Chinese in national liberation.
What is the existing cooperation in tangible projects undertaken through China and Nigeria?
China and Nigeria have the right relationships. In April 2016, President Buhari made a state of success in China.In September 2018, President Buhari attended the Beijing summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC). During these two, President Xi Jinping and President Buhari held fruitful bilateral talks.and reached consensus to deepen cooperation between China and Nigeria at all levels.Under the leadership of this vital consensus, China-Nigeria relations have entered a new level of immediate development.
As the world’s largest emerging country, China attaches wonderful importance to its relations with Nigeria, Africa’s largest emerging country.Indeed, China-Nigeria cooperation is a South-South fraternal cooperation between equivalent partners and has pioneered China-Africa cooperation.China remains committed to intensifying its mutually favourable cooperation with Nigeria in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, trade, telecommunications, etc.
Take, for example, some China-Nigeria cooperation projects: the Abuja-Kaduna Railway, the first phase of the Nigeria Railway Modernization Project, has been commissioned and has been functioning well since July 2016.not only in Nigeria, but also in West Africa.Since its inception, the railway has transported millions of travelers between the two metropolises, with a comfortable delight in just two hours.
The Lagos-Ibadan railway, which is the moment phase of the railway modernization project, will soon be put into service.In the near future, cargo and passengers in Lagos can reach Kano by explicit trains.
Chinese corporations are there to expand or rebuild the terminals of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano airports in Nigeria, and the terminals of the new Harcourt port and Abuja Airport have already been commissioned and put into service.
A Chinese company is also there for Nigeria to build its largest hydroelectric power plant, located in Zungeru, Niger.We promise that by 2021, once completed, nigeria’s 700-megawatt plant will increase Nigeria’s hydroelectric generation capacity by 30%, offering Nigerian families and factories clean, emission-free energy.
In addition to infrastructure projects, many factories are being built with the Nigerian and Chinese investor joint venture.Appliances, building materials, shoes and many other products have been manufactured and sold in the country and west Africa.All of them are “Made in Nigeria” products with Chinese knowledge and technology.
No one can deny that these projects have created thousands of jobs for Nigerians and more jobs created in the education of local workers with wisdom and skills and that they have stimulated local economies.
What is the cooperation between China and Nigeria in the COVID-19 fight?
Since the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria has delivered two batches of Chinese government medical supplies to the Nigerian government, adding giant quantities of masks, protective suits, glasses, face shields, front thermometers, gloves for use, shoe covers.and other materials. A third batch is in it and will soon be delivered.
We also encourage transparency and facilitate the exchange of China’s joy in combat opposing COVID-19.
Ambassador Zhou Pingjian met with Nigerian Minister of Health Dr. Osagie Ehanire on 3 February and Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on 4 February and held a press convention with more than 40 Nigerian and foreign newscasts on 4 February..3 inform the Nigerian of china’s COVID-19 epidemic and China’s anti-epidemic measures.
Since the beginning of February, the Embassy has issued a COVID-19 bulletin to Nigeria’s government agencies, establishments and media, offering a timely update on the latest progression of the epidemic in China.
Since 27 April, Nigerian Health Minister Dr. Osagie Ehanire and senior ministry officials have participated in a series of five virtual meetings on the exchange of reports between Chinese and African experts, organized through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Health Commission of China.
NCDC Director-General Dr Ihekweazu was one of ten global fitness experts invited through WHO to make a stopover in China.Since its return, the NCDC has implemented methods and systems in Nigeria to ensure that the negative has an effect on this virus is minimized.He was highly identified through Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in a public confrontation on 29 March.
As a key player in the local community, the Embassy has also donated medical supplies to Nigeria’s Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, through the Federal Capital Territory Ministry, to more than a hundred schools in Abuja.
The Embassy also encouraged the local Chinese network to fulfill its social responsibility, delivering masks, gloves for medical use, among other medical materials and equipment to local communities in other Nigerian states, according to statistics released through the General Chamber of Commerce of China. , the total fabric and budget donated through local Chinese personal actors amounts to 3 billion naira.
For example, China’s General Chamber of Commerce donated 48 million nairas to the Nigerian federal government and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) even helped bring a plane loaded with medical supplies to satisfy the Nigerian government’s urgent wishes.CCECC has also joined the local business network in the construction of two makeshift hospitals with a combined capacity of more than 800 beds.
China will continue to strongly assist Nigeria in the fight against the epidemic and is in a position to provide assistance, if necessary, in the most productive way possible.Whether you’re sharing reports or delivering medical supplies, China will remain a smart friend., Nigeria’s spouse and brother through concrete actions.This joint war opposed to the COVID-19 pandemic will actually make trust, cooperation and fraternity between our two wonderful nations and peoples.
Can you comment on Hong Kong’s national security legislation?
National security is invariably the duty of central authorities, whether in China or any other country.In all countries, the force to legislate on national security rests solely with the central government.Hong Kong is an inalienable component of China, a special administrative region with a maximum degree of autonomy that falls directly on the central government.As an exceptional arrangement under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy, the Basic Law governing the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau obliges the SAR to adopt local law on its own to safeguard national security.Macau carried out this task in 2009.Hong Kong was unable to fulfill its constitutional duty.In the interest not only of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million inhabitants, but also of mainland Chinese’s 1.4 billion people, the question of how long we can simply tolerate such a huge gap in national security that it will have to be asked and answered.
Legislation is now urgently needed to safeguard national security.Since last June, Hong Kong has been traumatized by the escalation of violence fueled by external forces.Groups advocating for “Hong Kong independence” and “self-determination” prompted protesters, radicalized youth, to desecrate and burn the national flag, destroy the national emblem, and provoke a typhoon in the workplace of central government in Hong Kong.
In addition, some local politicians have proclaimed that they will paralyze Hong Kong SAR government, while others have campaigned for foreign governments to interfere in Hong Kong affairs or even impose sanctions on Hong Kong.No central government can look fat in the face of such threats.sovereignty and national security, as well as the dangers of subversion of state power.In general, these acts crossed the red line of “One Country” and demanded decisive action.
As an ideal framework for state force in China, the National People’s Congress has the constitutional strength and duty to enact the national security law for the Hong Kong SAR.The national law to be enacted took into account Hong Kong’s actual scenario and will be implemented in Hong Kong until it was enacted in accordance with the Basic Law.
The law aims to prevent, curb and punish acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security, crimes that will obviously be explained in the law.It will address only a very small minority of others who have damaged the law, while the lives and property, basic rights and freedoms of the vast majority of Hong Kong citizens will be protected.
How has China’s economy been controlled since the pandemic?
Despite the serious and demanding situations posed by COVID-19, China is returning to work, production, business and markets in an orderly manner, helping our economy and society return to normal.China is the first primary economy to enjoy positive expansion.after recording a negative expansion rate prior to this year.
First, the main signs show a recovery in growth.Data show that China’s second quarter GDP grew by 3.2%, the economy is slightly affected by the pandemic.
Second, employment grades and customer costs remained stable.In June, the unemployment rate in urban spaces was 5.7%, a slight minimum for the time being consecutive month.
Third, the fundamental livelihoods were effective.The poverty alleviation crusade has achieved remarkable results.
Fourth, the new drivers of expansion have become more powerful in emerging fields. In the first part of the year, the aggregate price of the production of high-tech gadgets and equipment grew by 4.5 percent.
Fifth, market expectations were good. The purchasing managers’ index for the production sector stood at 53.1% in August, the highest figure since February 2011, and remains above the expansion-contraction threshold for the sixth consecutive month.
On September 4, China opened the China International Services Trade Fair 2020 (ICFTIS).At the opening ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping said: “Since COVID-19 has not yet been fully controlled globally, all countries face the formidable task of defeating the virus, stabilizing the economy, and protecting livelihoods.””China is in a position to marry all countries at this time complicated and paints in combination to allow the global facilities industry to thrive and the global economy quickly.”
President Xi also said that China will continue to engage with greater openness, strengthening the coverage of intellectual asset rights and actively selling the progression of the virtual economy and the sharing economy.
There are some disputes over China’s existing loan to Nigeria, under the agreement signed between Nigeria and the Import and Export Bank of China for a $400 million loan.Can you be nicer to that?
By continuing its cooperation with Africa, China values sincerity, friendship and equality.China never seeks hegemony or expansion.China’s 1.4 billion people have supported more than 1.2 billion Africans in the search for a network with a non-unusual future.
We respect Africa, we love Africa and Africa.We abid by a “five-no” technique in our relations with Africa: not interference in the search through African countries for pathways of progression adapted to their national conditions; no interference in the internal affairs of African countries; no imposition of our will on African countries; lack of political ties with assistance to Africa; and not seek self-centered political gains by conducting investment and financing cooperation with Africa.
China is committed to strengthening investment and monetary cooperation with African countries in line with its desire to help them improve infrastructure and extradite socio-economic development. With investment infrastructure and other spaces lagging behind for lack of money, we have helped the countries involved.succeed over bottlenecks, strengthen their capacity for independent development, achieve sustainable social and economic development, and improve people’s livelihoods.
This cooperation has brought tangible benefits to African countries and peoples.In the process, China still takes into account debt sustainability and seeks mutually appropriate proposals through equivalent and friendly consultations.This is the basic explanation for the enormous popularity of China-Africa cooperation.Africa and this cooperation is widely welcomed through African countries.
To African countries fighting the pandemic, China has promised that, under FOCAC, it will cancel the debt of the African countries involved in the form of interest-free government loans that will expire until the end of 2020.
For African countries most affected by the coronavirus and subjected to severe monetary tensions, China will work with paintings from the global network to provide them with greater support, for example by further extending the era of debt suspension, so that they succeed over the current one.
We inspire Chinese monetary establishments to respond to the G20 Debt Spending Initiative (DSSI) and to hold friendly consultations with African countries in accordance with market principles to expand sovereign-guaranteed advertising loan agreements.China will work with other G20 members to bring the ISD into force and, on that basis, urge the G20 to make the debt service suspension larger for the affected countries, adding those in Africa.
What is the volume of industry between Nigeria and China?
According to Chinese customs statistics, in 2019, the volume of bilateral industry between China and Nigeria is $19.27 billion with an annual accumulation of 26.3%.
In Africa, Nigeria remains China’s third largest trading partner, after South Africa and Angola, and has surpassed South Africa, China’s largest export market with $16.62 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 24%.In addition, Nigeria’s exports to China amounted to $2.65 billion, with an impressive expansion rate of 43.1%.
In the first part of 2020, the volume of bilateral industry between China and Nigeria amounted to $7.77 billion, with China’s exports to $6.77 billion and Nigeria to $1 billion.And according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, China was the most sensitive on Nigeria’s import trade list.31.41% at the time quarter of 2020, while China is one of Nigeria’s 3 most sensitive export trading partners.
What do you think are China’s milestones and achievements in bilateral relations between the two countries?
China and Nigeria see themselves as opportunities for progression.There are many highlights and achievements. I will only highlight one mastery of cooperation, namely capacity building.The number of Nigerian academics who have been read lately in China is huge.So far, nearly 7,000 Nigerian academics have enrolled in Chinese universities, many of them obtaining a wide variety of scholarships, proceeding to their master’s and doctoral studies in engineering, medicine, agriculture and other careers.
At the FOCAC summit in Beijing in 2018, President Xi Jinping promised that over the next 3 years, as a component of the FOCAC, China will establish 10 Luban workshops in Africa to provide vocational exercise to young Africans.Africans of calibre, grant Africa 50,000 government grants, hold seminars and workshops for 50,000 Africans and invite 2,000 young Africans to China for exchanges.
Is there cooperation on China-Africa or China-Nigeria security?
As a component of the FSO, China established a Sino-African Peace and Security Fund and continued to provide military assistance to the African Union.A total of 50 security assistance programmes are and will be implemented in areas, adding United Nations peacekeeping missions, combating piracy and fighting terrorism.
In the area of security, China has been Nigeria’s honest and trusted spouse, in recent years military exchanges and pragmatic cooperation between China and Nigeria have been very fruitful.China provided two batches of military aid to Nigeria in 2016 and 2018, respectively..
With the steady progress of the Strip and Route initiative, China will continue to assist Nigeria in the areas of smuggling, counterterrorism and counterinsurgency.Nigeria sends more than 50 officials to China each year for the military and security education and cooperation has expanded.
What can we expect between Africa and China in terms of solidarity against COVID-19?
China will continue to do everything in its power in the face of Africa’s reaction to COVID-19.
The progression and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine in China, when available, will be a global public good.China will give the next countries, i.e. in Africa, priority access to COVID-19 vaccines.This will be China’s contribution to ensuring the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in Africa.
China will contribute $2 billion over two years to the COVID-19 reaction and economic and social progress in affected countries, especially in emerging countries.
China will identify a cooperation mechanism for its hospitals to join 30 African hospitals and strengthen the structure of the African CDC headquarters to help the continent its ability to prepare and control diseases.CDC African Implementation Agreement assisted on July 27, 2020.
China will continue with African countries to offer materials, sending expert groups and facilitating Africa’s procurement of medical materials in China.
Can you tell us about visa policies between the two countries and what the Chinese Embassy is doing to public officials, businessmen, academics and tourists?
To advertise bilateral trade, we have done much to facilitate the issuance of visas.The procedure and procedures for programmes have been significantly simplified in recent years.
Nigerian officials holding a valid diplomatic or official passport shall be exempt from the visa requirement to enter, leave or transit through the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
Nigerian academics reading in China have the right to use the quick booking window at the visa application center for China.More information can be found on the website of the Chinese Embassy.
© 2020 Leadership Journal
Log in to your account below
Complete the bureaucracy below to register
Enter your username or email to reset your password.