China’s ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, has said Chinese firms operating in the country must obey Nigerian law and that Beijing will not tolerate illegal mining, as he set out how a new Chinese framework for mining cooperation with Africa should apply in Nigeria.
In a statement released in Abuja, Mr Yu said the Chinese government requires all its enterprises and citizens in Nigeria to operate lawfully and in compliance with local regulations.
He said China supports Nigerian authorities in taking strong measures to tighten mining governance and is ready to work with them to regulate the market and jointly combat illegal mining.
He maintained that the overwhelming majority of Chinese mining companies in Nigeria follow the law, meet their social responsibilities and protect the environment.
Allegations that exaggerate isolated cases or distort the facts, he said, are unfair and do not serve China-Nigeria friendship.
Mr Yu was explaining a four-point proposition on mining cooperation that Chinese President Xi Jinping presented on October 13 during talks in China with Botswana’s President, Duma Gideon Boko, who was on a state visit.
The first point holds that African resources belong to Africa. The ambassador described resource sovereignty as part of national sovereignty and said Africa has long been kept at the lower end of global value chains by an unfair division of labour.
He said China respects the development paths African countries choose for themselves and wants decision-making power and the benefits of resource development to stay in African hands.
The second point calls for mutual benefit and shared interests. Mr Yu said Chinese firms in Nigeria’s energy and mining sector bring capital and technology while also operating locally and investing in skills training and community projects.
The Chinese Embassy, he said, will keep guiding these companies to improve their operations, transfer green technologies, support public welfare, create local jobs and train talent.
On the third point, high-quality development, he said local processing, longer industrial chains and greater value addition are the main ways Africa can turn mineral wealth into economic strength.
He said China will align its 15th Five-Year Plan with President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” Agenda and push projects into deep processing, so that minerals drive modernisation instead of becoming a “resource curse.”
The fourth point stresses a fair and open environment for cooperation. Mr Yu said Africa’s resources should not become tools of geopolitical rivalry and that China is ready to join Nigeria in rejecting efforts to use minerals as a bargaining chip.
He said Beijing favours open cooperation, fair competition and a stable, predictable market for investors.
The ambassador also pointed to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and China’s zero-tariff policy for African countries with which it has diplomatic ties as platforms that continue to support deeper engagement.
Mr Yu said China is ready to work with Nigeria and other African countries to implement the proposal and make mining cooperation a model of South-South partnership.
