Nigeria’s exports to China rose by 80 per cent to $2.3 billion in the first half of 2026, signalling growing access to the world’s second-largest economy following the implementation of Beijing’s expanded zero-tariff policy for African countries.
Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, disclosed the figure at an international seminar on “China’s Zero-Tariff Measures and Africa’s Economic Structural Transformation,” organised by the Centre for China Studies (CCS), in Abuja.
Yu said the sharp increase in Nigerian exports reflected the deepening commercial relationship between both countries, although Nigeria continued to run a substantial trade deficit with China because imports from the Asian economic giant remain significantly higher than exports.
According to him, Nigeria-China bilateral trade reached $18 billion in the first half of 2026, representing a 35 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period of 2025. The ambassador attributed much of the acceleration in Nigerian exports to the zero-tariff policy, which took effect on May 1.
“Chinese imports from Nigeria surged 80 per cent to $2.3 billion, with monthly growth exceeding 40 per cent in both May and June,” he said
