China has declared its readiness to share its governance experience with Nigeria and other African countries, signaling a fresh push by Beijing to export key elements of its development model as African nations search for solutions to persistent governance and economic challenges.
The move came in Abuja where Chinese diplomats and Nigerian scholars advanced President Xi Jinping’s governance philosophy as a framework capable of accelerating modernization, reducing poverty and strengthening state capacity across the continent.
Speaking at a high-level policy dialogue on China-Nigeria cooperation, Chinese Embassy Counselor Wang Jun said China was prepared to share lessons from its development journey, including its poverty reduction programmes, long-term planning culture and governance mechanisms that have transformed the world’s second-largest economy.
The declaration places governance and policy exchange at the centre of China’s growing engagement with Africa, beyond the traditional focus on infrastructure financing, trade and investment.
Wang pointed to China’s record of lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty as evidence of what he described as a people-centred development model, arguing that African countries could draw useful lessons from the experience while adapting them to their local realities.
“China is willing to share its governance experience with African countries,” he said, stressing however that every nation must chart a development path that reflects its own conditions and priorities.
The discussion comes amid growing debate across Africa over the effectiveness of existing governance models as governments struggle with unemployment, insecurity, weak institutions and slow industrial growth.
Director of the Centre for Contemporary China-Africa Research and Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, Prof. Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, said China’s experience offered important lessons on modernisation, state planning and economic transformation.
He noted that China’s governance framework is built around people-centred development, common prosperity, ecological sustainability, national rejuvenation and long-term strategic planning.
According to him, China’s modernisation drive demonstrates that countries can achieve rapid development without following historical models associated with colonial expansion or external domination.
Ibrahim also highlighted the strategic significance of the Belt and Road Initiative, describing it as a comprehensive development platform that encompasses infrastructure, trade, finance, technology transfer and people-to-people exchanges.
He said Nigeria and China had expanded cooperation in critical sectors including infrastructure development, nuclear energy, media collaboration and capacity building, noting that bilateral trade has exceeded $28 billion.
The scholar further urged African countries to take advantage of China’s tariff concessions by increasing industrial production and value addition rather than continuing to depend on the export of raw materials.
The Abuja dialogue ended with calls for deeper policy engagement, institutional collaboration and knowledge exchange between Nigeria and China, as both countries seek to strengthen cooperation on governance innovation, modernization and sustainable development.
The discussions underscored China’s growing determination to shape governance conversations in Africa, presenting its development experience as a potential reference point for countries seeking alternatives to traditional Western development prescriptions.
Michael Olugbode
Follow us on:
