This November more than 16-hundred companies from more than 120 countries and regions, will meet in Shanghai for the first China International Import Expo. Companies from Nigeria are hoping to open the door for more domestic exports to China. CGTN's Deji Badmus reports from Lagos. 

Chimezie Nwuzor, a Nigerian CEO, that has signed up for the China International Import Expo. His fashion company manufacturers different types of African apparel. He's looking forward to the opportunities the Expo will offer including getting his products into the Chinese market.

 

CHIMEZIE NWUZOR, CEO, MORGAN-PATTERN INTERNATIONAL "I'm excited because China has always been about export. For once, we are going to have an idea of what it takes to bring in goods into China and also sample different products from other parts of the world in China."

Nigeria is Africa biggest oil producer pumping out an average of around two million barrels of oil every day. It's also China's third largest trading partner in Africa and the second largest export market on the continent. In 2017, bilateral trade between both countries was estimated at more than 12 billion dollars. China's exports accounted for most of it.

GABRIEL IDAHOSA, ECONOMIST "Nigeria exports essential primary products like crude oil and a few commodities to China. But China, because it's a manufacturing giant, exports practically any type of and allied services to Nigeria. So that gap will be there for quite a while. But in the long term, as Nigeria industrializes and is able to convert its own natural resources into products, then you will see a gradual reduction in the balance."

It's a fact not lost on local manufacturers like Chimezie. But he believes the International Import Expo could open the door for more domestic exports to China.

CHIMEZIE NWUZOR, CEO, MORGAN-PATTERN INTERNATIONAL"It's going to help in cutting out the trade deficit and also bringing more investment into Nigeria. I tell you that when we take what we have into China, more people will be interested in coming to invest."

It's not certain how many Nigerian companies will be at the Expo. The Lagos Chamber of Commerce is still compiling its list. But economist Gabriel Idahosa, knows what the Nigerian companies will be looking for.

GABRIEL IDAHOSA, ECONOMIST "More and more Nigerian businesses are realizing that we cannot just buy finished products continuously. That we have to grow the local manufacturing capacity. So a lot of the Nigerian businesses going there are likely to be looking for manufacturing facilities they can bring to Nigeria. They are likely to be looking for fairly used equipment that have a good price in terms of the cost of a new one."

DEJI BADMUS, LAGOS, NIGERIA "Nigeria is seeking to diversify its economy away from oil and grow its industrial base. There's no question the upcoming Expo event will improve trade relations between Nigeria and China. DB, CGTN, L,N."