Premier meets leaders of Nigeria, Cape Verde

Premier Li Qiang pledged on Wednesday to deepen cooperation with Nigeria in areas of infrastructure construction, finance, agriculture and fisheries, and expand cooperation in the marine economy, clean energy and digital economy.

In a meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in Beijing, Li encouraged the two countries to explore new models of cooperation and foster new growth to upgrade bilateral cooperation.

China encourages competent enterprises with a good reputation to invest in the West African nation and is willing to import more quality products from Nigeria, Li said.

In Africa, Nigeria is China's largest engineering contracting market, second-largest export market, third-largest trading partner and a major investment destination.

The two countries announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership on Tuesday.

China stands ready to strengthen the alignment of development strategies with Nigeria, and give full play to the overall planning and coordinating roles played by the China-Nigeria Intergovernmental Committee, the premier said.

Li also expressed a willingness to enhance coordination in multilateral fields with Nigeria, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and uphold international fairness and justice.

Tinubu said that Nigeria will work with China to enhance exchanges and cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure, manufacturing and other areas, and tap the potential for greater development in bilateral relations from a new starting point.

He added that Nigeria and other African nations are willing to work with China to usher in a bright future of Africa-China cooperation.

Li also met with Cape Verdean Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva in Beijing on Wednesday.

During the meeting, he expressed a willingness to boost bilateral communication and cooperation in various areas to better benefit people from both sides.

He called on the two sides to communicate and coordinate on issues such as climate change and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and jointly safeguard the interests of both sides and developing countries.

Silva said Cape Verde looks forward to deepening cooperation with China in various fields and would like to work together to make the 2024 FOCAC Summit a success.