PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2013
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Interview
Jonathan’s visit to consolidate traditional ties between China and Nigeria, says Envoy P
resident Jonathan is on a state visit to China. What does this mean to the two countries? What achievements would be made during this visit? At the invitation of the Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Jonathan is to pay his first state visit to China July 9th-12th. It has been 5 years since a Nigerian President visited China, and it will be the first time for our top leaders to meet after the new Chinese president assumed office. During his stay in China, the two parties will exchange views on bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common concern, consider new channels and approaches to boost ChinaNigeria cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other fields, and sign a few documents on cooperation. I believe President Jonathan’s visit will further consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries, enhance strategic mutual trust, expand pragmatic bilateral cooperation, and promote China-ECOWAS and China-Africa relations. What is the current status of relations between Nigeria and China? Over the past 42 years, China and Nigeria have been moving ever closer. Our two countries have been forging ever closer economic ties. Nigeria is now the third largest trade partner of China in Africa. In 2012, the trade volume between the two countries reached USD 10.57 billion, and by the end of last year, China’s nonfinancial direct investment in Nigeria accumulated to USD 8.7 billion.In the financial sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria is the very first in Africa to include the Chinese currency RMB in its foreign exchange reserves, with a view to building strategic and mutually beneficial relationship with key Chinese financial institutions.Our cooperation in science and technology has made Nigeria the first African country that boasts a satellite navigation capacity. In 2011, the China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) launched Nigerian Communications Satellite 1R, which has thereafter met Nigeria’s requirements in communications, broadcast,
On the eve of President GoodluckJonathan’s visit to China, the first in five years by any Nigerian leader, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Deng Boqinganswers wide ranging questions from reporters, including Peoples Daily’s special correspondent, Charles Onunaiju. Excerpts: navigation and broadband access and also provided services for Africa, Europe and Asian.People-to-people communication and cultural exchanges are an integral part of our bilateral relations. Both countries enjoy ancient civilizations and splendid cultures, and we could often find similarities in our value systems and world views. However, we still want to know more about each other. In the just concluded African Arts and Crafts Expo, the Chinese delegation showcased exquisite Chinese handicrafts, most of which are acknowledged as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage; Two Confucius Cenres have been founded in Nigeria, namely in Lagos University and NnamdiAzikiwe University. Besides, a “Nigerian Culture Week” in China last year impressed quite many Chinese people. What is your view on the influx of fake or inferior Chinese products into Nigeria? China has been hailed as a “World factory” with its products reaching every corner of the earth. The world famous brands like IBM PC, VOLVO, have become Chinese brands.Behind the success of Chinese manufacturing and the popularity of madein-China products lies the great importance that China has attached to the quality of the products. As a matter of fact, quality has always been regarded as the lifeblood of the Made-in-China brand. The way that China became a “World factory” has been a process to improve the quality of its products. Nevertheless, a Chinese saying goes “In a big forest there is every kind of bird.” Among the huge volume of Chinese products, and besides the ones manufactured for the high end market, there also exist fair quality products targeted for the medium and low end market as well as disqualified ones manufactured by a small number of lawless
businessmen. The fair and low quality products sneak through different channels into the international market where Africa has become the most vulnerable destination. Why Africa, instead of Europe or the United States? In my mind, there are the following reasons. Firstly, African people, due to limited consumption level and capability, prefer cheap products which encourage some African businessmen to import low end and low price products from China.Secondly, many African importers, when making orders from Chinese manufacturers, always press for a lower price, which leaves little room of profit for the manufacturers and thus low guarantee of quality for the products. Thirdly, relevant authorities of African countries, where smuggling and gray customs clearance are quite common, have not conducted effective supervision against the low quality products. What is also worth mentioning is that some of the inferior products in Africa though labeled “made in China”, are actually not Chinese products, but have been mistakenly categorized into the low quality made-inChina products. Although inferior products only take a minimum proportion of the total volume of Chinese exports, they have a very adverse effect not only on the interest of the consumers, but also the image of madein-China products. To curtail the spread of inferior products, the Chinese government has set up monitoring and complaint platforms, conducted special controlprogrammes, urged enterprises to assume responsibility for quality and safety of their products, enriched the quality and safety standard system, and worked to speed up the perfection of the quality inspection and supervision system. It has attached particular importance to
the quality of products for export, and taken measures to do a comprehensive quality inspection of those goods to prevent outflow of substandard products. Besides that, the Chinese government is actively seeking the cooperation of African countries in strengthening the quality of Chinese products exported to Africa. Take Nigeria as an example. The governments of our two countries are currently working together and negotiating the establishment of a mechanism for quality supervision. In March 2011, the Chinese embassy in Nigeria, together with the National Association of Nigerian Traders, co-hosted the seminar on China-Nigeria Trade Promotion to exchange ideas on how to raise the quality of Chinese products in Nigeria and push forward the sustained development of bilateral trade relations. Is China encouraging its companies to employ more locals? The Chinese government always encourages Chinese companies going abroad to localize their teams and shoulder due social responsibility. And indeed, most Chinese companies in Nigeria have been aware of the importance of localization ever since they came here, and accordingly they have been trying to integrate the local people into their projects. So far Chinese companies in Nigeria have employed over 100,000 Nigerians, and a lot of Nigerian employees have been acknowledged for their contributions to Chinese companies here in Nigeria. Let me give an example. Once I was invited to a prizeawarding ceremony held by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Nigeria Limited in honor of its employees who have been working in the company for over 10 years. What impressed me most is that, among the 10
H.E. Mr. Deng Boqing, Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China to Nigeria employees getting the award, 5 of them are Nigerian natives and by the time they had already been part of the management of the company. Localization is one of the secrets of CCECC’s success here in Nigeria. Will China relax its visa rules for businessmen? The relationship between two countries is based on the communication between their peoples. This is why the Chinese Embassy has been taking a lot of measures
and trying our best to satisfy the increasing visa demand of Nigerian people.During the rush seasons like before Canton Trade Fair is to be held, the consular section sometimes even opens at the weekend and holiday. Besides, more visa officers will be on duty and often they have to work overtime to manage the everincreasing workload. There are also special application procedures for delegations to facilitate the process. For Nigerians who have been to
China before and have kept a good record, we are prone to grant them multipleentry visa. However, all the relevant work should be based on the policy of visa application. And what I want to point out is that the visa application policies of our two countries are reciprocal. As there are people complaining of the strict procedure of visa application, there are Nigerian friends commending it for creating a favorable environment for their trip to China
because nowadays Nigerians visiting China are mostly well educated, presenting a positive image of Nigeria. Western media has not presented a fair image of China to Africans. How will China work to clarify its image and intentions to Africans themselves? I am very glad that our Nigerian media friends have noticed this, and I think in this regard Nigeria also suffers the same fate. Before I came to Nigeria, little of the information I got about Nigeria from Western Media are positive, which made me feel sort of disappointed. However, after I came here, I saw a totally different picture. Nigeria is making progress at her own pace; most parts of Nigeria enjoy peace; and Nigerian people are very friendly. This reminds me of a Nigerian saying, that is, “truth is like oil. No matter how much water you pour on it, it floats.” I come to Nigeria, and I see a real Nigeria. I think with the communications and visits going on between our two countries, more and more Nigerian people will get to know a real China. And I encourage our Nigerian media friends who have been to China to write real China stories, so that more and more Nigerian people will understand China and Chinese people in the right way. In addition, Startimes, a Chinese company here in Nigeria, has included CCTVNews among the channels from which our Nigerian friends can get a lot of firsthand information about China. What kind of help is China offering to Nigeria in order to address the country’s insurgency? China and Nigeria have a lot in common. Both our cultures attach much importance to “forgiveness, tolerance and resilience.” Nigerian government has already taken various means, including dialogue, to tackle
the current situation of insurgency. I believe the Nigerian government and people will work out its way to solve the problem. During the years, China has engaged in promoting infrastructure building here and increased direct investment in Nigeria, creating jobs for Nigerian people and boosting the economic development of Nigeria. In a sense, all these contributions help stabilize the Nigerian society. China is now the second largest economy in the world. In which way will China’s development influence the world? Ever since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially over the past 3 decades, China has been witnessing great changes and making notable achievements. In the most recent 10 years, China’s economic aggregate rose fourfold, increasing from 4.4% to about 10% of the world economic aggregate. Meanwhile, per capita GDP of China grew from $1,135 to $6,100, Chinese people’s living standard and social welfare system remarkably enhanced. China’s development has
made great contributions to world economy. According to the study of Goldman Sachs, in the past decade, China has accumulatively contributed more than 20% to world economy. China’s success can be ascribed to many factors. But personally, I think the most important reason is that China found her own path of development, established her own social institutions, and proposed her own developmental theories, which have ever since been up to further improvement to meet new challenges.Although Chinahas made rapid progress over the years and our country has become the second largest economy in the world, we are always aware that as the most populous country in the world, China remains a developing country, facing all kinds of challenges in our development. We are going to keep on exploring ways of reform and development. Our interaction and integration with the rest of world will be further strengthened. Meanwhile, China will try her best to stay on the right track of development. As a big country with a huge population of over 1.3 billion, if China maintains her progress and stability,
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To curtail the spread of inferior products, the Chinese government has set up monitoring and complaint platforms, conducted special controlprogrammes, urged enterprises to assume responsibility for quality and safety of their products, enriched the quality and safety standard system, and worked to speed up the perfection of the quality inspection and supervision system. It has attached particular importance to the quality of products for export, and taken measures to do a comprehensive quality inspection of those goods to prevent outflow of substandard products. Besides that, the Chinese government is actively seeking the cooperation of African countries in strengthening the quality of Chinese products exported to Africa
it can be good news enough to the rest of world. China is to get actively involved in mutual-beneficial cooperation with other countries. Against the backdrop of globalization and ever-increasing interdependence among countries, more often than not human beings are faced with challenges which could only be tackled with joint efforts of different countries. China is always in the position to collaborate with others to promote world peace and prosperity. Recently, Chinese President Xi proposed the notion of “Chinese Dream.” How is this” related to Africa, and Nigeria in particular? First of all, what is the “Chinese Dream”? It is the dream of generations of Chinese people, representing the common wishes of all Chinese. As early as over 2000 years ago, the Chinese sage, Confucius, proposed the ideal of setting up a harmonious society free from obsession with self-interest and harsh conflicts, which constitutes an influential part of Chinese civilization. However, in spite of her rich culture, China experienced almost a hundred years of humiliation in recent history. Ever since then, the revival of the Chinese nation has become the dream of Chinese people.Last year, President Xi explained the Chinese Dream this way: a prosperous and strong China, a revived Chinese nation, and a contented life for the Chinese people.To realize the Chinese Dream, the Communist Party of China has drawn up a very clear roadmap, including two main goals. The first is to double both GDP and per capita income by 2020 on the basis of the 2010 level. The second goal is to turn China into a rich, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious country by the middle of this century. Now the over 1.3 billion Chinese people are working hard to realize the Chinese dream. The over one billion African people including our fellow Nigerians are committed to the African dream of gaining strength from unity and achieving development and rejuvenation. The two Dreams are highly interconnected. By joining our hands together, our dreams are destined to come true.