Yang Jiechi conveys greetings of President Xi Jinping to Muhammadu Buhari

Yang Jiechi said, with the personal support and guidance from President Xi and President Buhari, China and Nigeria have enhanced political trust, and our relationship has enjoyed fast development.

On 5 September local time, Yang Jiechi, Special Representative of President Xi Jinping, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

Yang Jiechi conveyed the cordial greetings of President Xi Jinping to Buhari. Yang Jiechi said, with the personal support and guidance from President Xi and President Buhari, China and Nigeria have enhanced political trust, and our relationship has enjoyed fast development. China and Nigeria are the most populous and largest economies in Asia and Africa respectively. We are both big developing countries with important influence, with a bright future for development. China and Nigeria should further increase high-level exchanges, strengthen bilateral cooperation in international and regional affairs, and support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns.

Yang Jiechi said, the practical cooperation in various fields between China and Nigeria has achieved positive progress, and benefited the people of the two countries. The Chinese side encourages more Chinese companies to invest in Nigeria. We should continue to work hand in hand to develop the Belt and Road Initiative, implement the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and constantly enrich the China-Nigeria Strategic Partnership.

Buhari asked Yang Jiechi to convey the cordial greetings to President Xi Jinping. Buhari said China is an important partner of Nigeria. The Nigerian side thanks China for its long-term strong support for the economic and social development of Nigeria, and welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in Nigeria. The Nigerian side highly appreciates the Belt and Road Initiative and is willing to work with China to implement the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and take the Nigeria-China strategic partnership to a new level.

On the same day, Yang Jiechi also met with Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama.

(With Inputs from APO)