Nigeria rolled out the red carpet yesterday to welcome President
Hu Jintao, who continued his diplomatic tour with a two-day state
visit to the African nation.
Hu was scheduled to hold talks with his counterpart Olusegun
Obasanjo late yesterday local time in the capital Abuja and meet
with senior legislators today.
Agreements are to be signed on economic and medical cooperation
as well as China's economic aid to Nigeria following the two
leaders' talks.
In a written statement delivered upon arrival at the airport, Hu
said he is expecting to exchange in-depth views with Obasanjo on
furthering bilateral relations and international and regional
issues of common concern.
Hu is scheduled today to address a joint session of the National
Assembly, which is made up of 109 senators and 360 representatives,
on Sino-African relations and China's policy on Africa.
Nigeria says Hu's visit will help further promote peace and
harmonious development in the world. A statement signed by Monima
Daminabo, the National Assembly's director of information,
described Hu's visit as "very significant."
Nigeria is the largest oil producer in the African continent and
ranks sixth in the world in oil exports. Analysts expect Hu's trip
to Nigeria will help push for a bilateral partnership in the energy
field.
Last week, China's top offshore oil and gas producer China
National Offshore Oil Corp Limited completed a deal to buy a share
of a Nigerian oil mining license in its biggest-ever overseas
acquisition.
The deal comes nine months after PetroChina International and
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation signed an oil supply
pact in which the Nigerian company agreed to sell 30,000 barrels of
crude a day to PetroChina.
Since diplomatic ties were established in 1971, the two
countries have witnessed fruitful partnership in such fields as
agriculture, infrastructure construction, power generation and
telecommunications.
Sino-Nigerian trade hit US$2.83 billion in 2005, up 29.6 percent
year-on-year, according to Foreign Ministry statistics. The two
countries have also carried out effective cooperation in
counter-terrorism and peacekeeping activities.
Hu flew to Abuja from Rabat after concluding a state visit to
Morocco.
Hu's current trip to Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya is the second
time he has visited Africa in the past three years. He paid a state
visit to Egypt, Gabon and Algeria in 2004 after he took office in
2003.
(China Daily April 27, 2006)
