Nigeria Projects $20B Investment from China During 2025
On Friday 18 July 2025, the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP) Director-General Joseph Tegbe reported that ‘recent engagements’ between the two countries generated over USD 20 billion in investment commitments during a media conference in Abuja. He underscored the investments are aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda (#RHA) initiated by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
This particular wave of #FDI covers agriculture, automotive manufacturing, mining, steel production and energy. The Renewed Hope Agenda promotes economic diversification, #industrialization and #FoodSecurity. Tegbe clarified that the investments are expected to materialize by the end of the year.
It is worth recalling that in January 2025, DG Tegbe visited the China National Chemical Engineering Corporation (CNCEC) in the company of Skeikh Bayorh of Alpha Group of UAE. During that visit, CNCEC signed an MoU with Alpha to develop the USD 20 billion Ogidigben Gas Revolution Industrial Park (#GRIP) Project in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria and the State Government of Delta as well as other stakeholders. President LI Zhenyu of CNCEC recalled that his company already accumulated valuable experience in Nigeria by building the Petrochemical Refinery Complex for the benefit of Dangote Croup.
The boost in investment occurred after the elevation of the Nigeria-China ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024. President Tinubu appointed Tegbe as the Director-General of the NCSP. The mandate of the NCSP is to steer the implementation of the projects under FOCAC while expanding relationships beyond the official agreements. In January 2025, Nigeria was admitted as a Partner Member of #BRICS.
“Our focus is to ensure that Nigeria not only implements FOCAC projects efficiently but also leverages Chinese expertise, technology, and financing to reactivate Nigeria’s manufacturing and industrial sectors.”
NCSP DG Joseph Tegbe
Bilateral trade between Nigeria and China amounted to USD 20 billion in 2024, compared to USD 22.6 in 2023, representing a 13% drop. Nigeria exports mostly petroleum and minerals to China, whereas China exported mostly machinery and electronics to Nigeria. The different stages in the value addition results in a structural trade deficit which the two countries are trying to address.
Out of the flagship projects undertaken by China in Nigeria, we can note the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone, the Lekki seaport, and the Lagos-Ibadan railway. The declared objective of Government of Nigeria is to position the country as an industrial powerhouse on the continent by attracting financing and technology from abroad.