VICE President Kashim Shettima says that Nigeria’s strategic partnership with China remains key to Africa’s development, calling for it to be scaled up.
Shettima in a statement on Tuesday by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, said President Bola Tinubu’s administration has strategically tinkered with the country’s foreign policy to drive and boost investors’ confidence.
Shettima stated this when he was hosted by China’s Vice President Han Zheng, at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing. The Vice President represented President Tinubu at the ongoing Belt And Road Initiative Forum.
“Our mutually beneficial relationship will be further enhanced and upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership,” the Vice President said.
“Nigeria is China’s second-largest trading partner in Africa; it is the largest economy in Africa and the most populous country in the African continent. The Belt and Road Initiative is a big, beautiful concept that can be deployed to achieve this.”
The Vice President drew attention to the burgeoning relationship between Nigeria and China, stating that both countries stood to gain mutually from their friendship.
On his part, Vice President Zheng assured his Nigerian counterpart of continued partnership with Nigeria, hinting that President Jinping’s meeting with Shettima would enhance political mutual trust, advance practical cooperation, and better develop the bilateral relation between the two countries.
The Vice President was later a guest at the State Banquet hosted by President Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan.
