Nearly five years of negotiation came to a close with the signing of the Nigeria-China Aquatic Products Protocol, an agreement that now gives eligible Nigerian aquatic exports zero-tariff entry into a Chinese market of roughly 1.4 billion consumers. For Nigerian exporters, it’s the kind of access that had been under discussion for years without a clear finish line, until now.
The timing works in Nigeria’s favor. Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Yu Dunhai disclosed that Nigerian exports to China had already climbed 80 percent in the first half of 2026, part of a broader surge that pushed total bilateral trade between the two countries to $18 billion in just six months, a figure that compares strikingly to the $28 billion recorded across the whole of 2025.
Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe received the Ambassador during a courtesy visit tied to the protocol’s signing, and used the occasion to press Nigerian exporters and businesses to act quickly. Market access on paper only translates into export earnings if companies actually move to use it, and Tegbe’s message was pointed toward closing that gap before the opportunity cools.
Beyond the immediate trade numbers, Tegbe framed the protocol as part of something bigger. He said implementation would help strengthen the broader Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership and support the rollout of other initiatives already in motion, including the Zero Tariff Agreement extended to African countries more broadly. In that sense, the aquatic products deal functions as a proof of concept, a signal that other sector-specific agreements can follow a similar path from negotiation to implementation.
For his part, Ambassador Yu committed the Chinese Embassy to supporting the protocol’s rollout and helping qualified Nigerian aquatic exporters actually get their products into the Chinese market, a detail that matters given how technical compliance requirements can slow down market access even after tariffs are removed. He also pointed to the 35 percent rise in overall bilateral trade and the 80 percent jump in Nigerian exports as evidence that deeper cooperation between the two countries still has considerable room to grow, calling Tegbe’s leadership approach a factor in that momentum.
Yu closed by reaffirming Chinese government support for Nigeria’s efforts to modernize and expand its power sector, a separate but parallel thread in the broader relationship between the two countries.
