Nigeria-China trade rose by 35 per cent to $18 billion in the first half of 2026, following the implementation of China’s zero-tariff policy for African countries, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, has said.
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,” organised by the Centre for China Studies in Abuja.
He said the development reflected the immediate impact of the policy, which took effect on May 1, 2026, adding that Chinese imports from Nigeria surged by 80 per cent to $2.3 billion during the period.
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According to him, monthly growth in Nigerian exports to China exceeded 40 per cent in both May and June, while China-Africa trade reached a record $207 billion in the first half of the year.
He said Chinese imports from Africa stood at $29 billion between May and June, representing a 24 per cent year-on-year increase, while the zero-tariff policy had boosted overall African exports to China by about six per cent.
Dunhai said the policy, announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 14, 2026, granted zero-tariff treatment to all tariff lines for African countries with diplomatic relations with China.
He described the initiative as a strategic milestone in China-Africa relations, saying it was designed to promote economic development, industrialisation and mutually beneficial cooperation.
For Nigeria, he said the policy had already translated into concrete savings for exporters, citing sesame, cattle bone granules and liquefied propane among products benefiting from the tariff concessions.
“Every hundred tons of sesame exports saves $11,000 in costs. Nigeria’s annual export of 7,000 tons of cattle bone granules saves nearly $450,000 in costs. And on day one of the policy, a single shipment of 23,000 tons of Nigerian liquefied propane saved $300,000 in tax,” Dunhai said.
He also disclosed 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 a major step towards expanding Nigerian 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 gains from 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 standardised production.
He also called for increased local processing and industrialisation, 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-sized 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.
He further advocated 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 one of the primary beneficiaries of the zero-tariff policy.
He said the initiative was also shifting China-Africa economic relations from traditional aid and raw-material trading towards structural integration, value addition and shared industrial development.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, said Nigeria must use the opportunity provided by the policy to move from exporting raw materials to exporting value-added products.
Represented at the seminar, Ahmed 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 was focused on moving 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 point, of economic activity,” he said.
Ahmed said Nigeria was seeking investments that would establish factories, processing plants, technology centres 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 because of its large consumer market, natural resources, entrepreneurial population, strategic location and membership of 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 an opportunity to diversify its exports beyond crude oil and accelerate agro-industrial development.
He said the country needed to move away from exporting raw agricultural commodities and focus on processed products that could compete in the international market.
“The question before us, therefore, 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, stressing the need for increased 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 launched or at advanced stages in Kaduna, Cross River, Ogun and Gombe states.
Abdullahi also said the government was reforming the agricultural cooperative sector to enable smallholder farmers to benefit from economies of scale, while a mechanisation programme involving 2,000 Belarusian tractors and equipment was being rolled out.
Earlier, the Director of the Centre for China Studies, Charles Onunaiju, said China’s zero-tariff policy should be regarded as a starting point rather than the end of Africa’s efforts to expand exports and achieve structural transformation.
“Zero-tariff treatment for products coming from Africa is only the starting point, it’s not the finish line,” Onunaiju said.
He urged African countries to make the necessary policy changes to exploit the opportunity, including improving standards, harmonising customs arrangements and strengthening regional economic integration under AfCFTA.
Onunaiju said Africa’s opportunity extended beyond increased exports, arguing that the continent could use access to the Chinese market to develop manufacturing capacity and become “the next workshop of the world.”
Chairman of the occasion and former Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Jonathan Mela Juma, said Nigeria had learnt 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 leverage its comparative advantage in agriculture to expand production and exports.
“Nigeria is a place where you can drop a seed, and without much care, harvest at the end of the day. What can we do with this? What can we offer the world? What can we offer to China?” he asked.
Representing the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Dr Samson Ebimaro, said Nigeria welcomed the Chinese initiative as an opportunity to deepen economic and commercial relations between both countries.
He said Nigeria had significant productive potential in agriculture, agro-processing, solid minerals, manufacturing, leather and the creative industries, but needed to improve production capacity, infrastructure, logistics, financing, technology transfer and compliance with international standards.
The Chairman, House 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 bottlenecks affecting Nigerian traders, particularly those from northern Nigeria, saying easier movement of businessmen between the two countries would contribute to increased trade.
He said the House Committee would continue to work with the Chinese Embassy to address the challenges and strengthen Nigeria-China commercial relations.