China, Nigeria trade imbalance hits N1.67tr in 5 years
The imbalance in trade volume between the Peoples Republic of China and Nigeria has averaged about N1.67 trillion in the last five years just as the volume of trade between both countries rose by N2.43 trillion ($8.57 billion) in six years.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, disclosed this yesterday during the 6th session of the Economic Trade and Technical Cooperation Joint Commission between the governments of China and Nigeria held in Abuja yesterday.
“There is an imbalance in our trade relations,” Udoma told the Joint Session. “There is therefore a need for mutual efforts to bridge the trade imbalance between the two countries for the sustainability of the cooperation framework.”
The Minister called on the Chinese government to reduce the high tariff on agriculture exports from Nigeria to China which currently stands at five per cent.
The 5th Joint Commission Session took place in Beijing in 2009 and since then, Udoma revealed ,however, that trade volumes between the two countries leaped from N1.79 trillion ($6.37 billion) recorded in 2009 to N4.23 trillion ($14.94 billion) in 2015.
The two countries exchanged notes on feasibility study for the second phase of Solar Powered Traffic Control signal which is located in Abuja.
They also exchanged notes on Agriculture Demonstration Centre and signed bilateral agreements on 2016 training programmes.
Nigeria had at the 5th Joint Commission Session in 2009 obtained a $2.5 billion loan, which N500m was concessionary while China obtained an oil block from Nigeria.
The Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, Qian Keming, told the Joint Session that Chinese nationals had invested over N3.68 trillion ($13 billion) in Nigeria over the years.