Nigeria-China Trade Surges Amid Zero-Tariff Policy
Nigeria’s trade with China has seen a remarkable increase, rising by 35 per cent to $18 billion in the first half of 2026. This growth follows the implementation of China’s zero-tariff policy for African countries, as revealed by the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai. The policy, which came into effect on May 1, 2026, has had an immediate and significant impact on bilateral trade.
During the first half of 2026, Chinese imports from Nigeria surged by 80 per cent to $2.3 billion. Monthly growth in Nigerian exports to China exceeded 40 per cent in both May and June. Additionally, China-Africa trade reached a record $207 billion in the first half of the year, with Chinese imports from Africa standing at $29 billion between May and June, representing a 24 per cent year-on-year increase.
The zero-tariff policy, announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 14, 2026, grants zero-tariff treatment to all tariff lines for African countries with diplomatic relations with China. The ambassador described this initiative as a strategic milestone in China-Africa relations, aimed at promoting economic development, industrialisation, and mutually beneficial cooperation.
For Nigeria, the policy has already translated into concrete savings for exporters. Products such as sesame, cattle bone granules, and liquefied propane have benefited from tariff concessions. According to Dunhai, 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. On the first day of the policy, a single shipment of 23,000 tons of Nigerian liquefied propane saved $300,000 in tax.
Expanding Market Access and Quality Improvement
Dunhai also disclosed that Nigeria and China had signed a protocol on inspection and quarantine requirements for wild aquatic products exported from Nigeria to China. This agreement is a major step towards expanding Nigerian access to the Chinese market. However, the ambassador stressed that Nigeria needs 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, stating that 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.
Strategic Economic Transformation
Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous country and a major economy, is positioned to become one of the primary beneficiaries of the zero-tariff policy. The initiative is shifting China-Africa economic relations from traditional aid and raw-material trading towards structural integration, value addition, and shared industrial development.
Also speaking at the seminar, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, emphasized that Nigeria must use the opportunity provided by the policy to move from exporting raw materials to exporting value-added products. He highlighted that 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.”
Ahmed mentioned that President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda focuses 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. He stated that natural resources must become the starting point, not the end point, of economic activity.
Agricultural Diversification and Industrial Growth
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 stressed the need to move away from exporting raw agricultural commodities and focus on processed products that could compete in the international market.
Abdullahi identified processed cassava derivatives, premium rice, spices, shea products, hibiscus, cashew, soybean products, fruits, and vegetables as potential products for the Chinese market. He warned 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 added that the Federal Government is 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. The government is also 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 is being rolled out.
Regional Integration and Policy Reforms
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. He urged African countries to make necessary policy changes to exploit the opportunity, including improving standards, harmonising customs arrangements, and strengthening regional economic integration under AfCFTA.
Onunaiju argued that Africa’s opportunity extended beyond increased exports, suggesting 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 learned 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.
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 highlighted Nigeria’s productive potential in agriculture, agro-processing, solid minerals, manufacturing, leather, and the creative industries, but noted the need to improve production capacity, infrastructure, logistics, financing, technology transfer, and compliance with international standards.
Strengthening Trade Relations
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 added that the House Committee would continue to work with the Chinese Embassy to address challenges and strengthen Nigeria-China commercial relations.
