Xi: China-Nigeria ties at their best in history

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01:47

Nigeria is China's important partner in Africa as it is a major country on the continent, and the relationship between the two is at its best in history, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday.

Xi made the remarks during his meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The Chinese president attributed the success of the summit to the joint efforts of China and Africa. He stressed that the meaning of the China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has been further enriched by the summit.

Xi said China appreciates Nigeria's insistence on the one-China policy, and is willing to support and understand each other on issues related to both countries' core interests and of major concerns.

He welcomed Nigeria to participate in projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), deepen cooperation with China in fields like infrastructure, agriculture, productive capacity, and people-to-people exchanges, in order to set the China-Nigeria cooperation as an example for collaboration between China and Africa.

For his part, Buhari said the FOCAC has become a significant platform where a brighter future can be created for the 2.6 billion people in China and Africa.

He thanked China for its pragmatic support in Nigeria's socioeconomic development, particularly pointing out the first rapid transit in Nigeria and Western Africa – the Abuja Light Rail, which was built under China's assistance and launched in July 2018.

Buhari also highly praised the BRI, saying the initiative will lay a solid foundation for the win-win cooperation and common development between China and Africa.

The two state leaders also witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral cooperative documents.