Buhari bemoans Nigeria's trade imbalance with China

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday decried what he called the large imbalance between Nigeria and China and stressed the need for the gap to be reduced.

At the opening of a Nigeria-China Business/Investment Forum at the beginning of his weeklong economic and state visit to China, Buhari stressed that trade and economic relations between both countries must be mutually beneficial and conducted with reciprocated respect and trust.

To achieve that, the president called on the Nigerian and Chinese business communities to work harder to reduce the trade imbalance between both countries which is currently in China's favour.

Business and trade relations between Nigeria and China have grown astronomically in the last decade with bilateral trade volumes rising from $2.8 billion in 2005 to $14.9 billion in 2015.

Nigeria accounted for 8.3 per cent of the total trade volume between China and Africa and 42 per cent of the total trade volume between China and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries in 2015.

The agreements include a 'Framework Agreement Between the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Development and Reform Commission of the Peoples Republic of China among a others'

A 'Mandate Letter Between the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Central Bank of Nigeria on Renminbi (RMB) Transactions' was also signed. The Guardian