Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) shakes hands with his Nigerian counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama (R) during a bilateral meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Jan. 11, 2017. The Nigerian government reaffirmed its commitment to One-China policy on Wednesday, saying Nigeria will stay committed to the long-standing friendship and cooperation with China. (Xinhua/Zhang Baoping)
ABUJA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- China and Nigeria need to further expand practical cooperation and deepen strategic partnership, Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Wednesday.
Wang made the statement at a bilateral meeting with his Nigerian counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama, in Abuja.
"Compare to the size, population and market of our two countries, our cooperation still have large potential to be deepened," he said.
"In order to achieve further development and prosperity of the two countries, we need to strengthen our political mutual trust, deepen complementary cooperation between our two countries," he added.
He expressed confidence that his visit would be successful and would play a dual role in further strengthening strategic partnership between China and Nigeria.
According to him, the purpose of his visit is to implement the important agreements and cooperation reached between the Chinese and Nigerian presidents.
He said the visit was also to help work closely with Nigeria to ensure that the outcome of the Forum for China Africa Cooperation summit is well implemented in Nigeria.
At the bilateral meeting, China and Nigeria further agreed to deepen cooperation in five areas, including security, economy and infrastructural development, education, agriculture and building of mutual trust.
Wang kicked off his five-nation Africa visit on Friday, visiting Madagascar, Zambia, Tanzania, the Republic of Congo and Nigeria. The visit is in keeping with China's long diplomatic tradition of making Africa its first overseas destination each year.
