Deepening Nigeria-China Ties, CBN Moves To Boost Payments, Investment

BY BUKOLA ARO-LAMBO, Lagos

Trade between Nigeria and China reached $18 billion within the first half of 2026, underscoring the rising financial ties between the 2 international locations and the necessity for stronger monetary preparations to help cross-border transactions, funding and the motion of funds.

With bilateral commerce spanning equipment, telecommunications tools, development supplies, crude oil, pure fuel and agricultural commodities, environment friendly fee methods and stronger banking relationships have change into more and more essential to companies working throughout each markets.

Against this backdrop, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is stepping up efforts to strengthen the monetary hall between the 2 international locations, participating Chinese monetary establishments, regulators, and companies to handle fee challenges, enhance banking connectivity, and entice extra Asian funding into Nigeria’s monetary markets.

For the CBN, strengthening these monetary connections has change into an essential a part of its efforts to draw funding, enhance cross-border funds and make Nigeria’s monetary markets extra accessible to worldwide traders.

The apex financial institution is stepping up engagements with Chinese monetary establishments, companies and regulators to handle the sensible challenges affecting transactions between the 2 international locations, whereas exploring methods to strengthen banking relationships and increase funding flows into Nigeria.

At the centre of this effort is a push to construct a extra environment friendly Nigeria-China monetary hall that may help rising business actions, enhance entry to monetary providers and create stronger hyperlinks between the monetary methods of each international locations.

The initiative took a major step on October 21, 2026, when CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso convened a high-level enterprise and monetary roundtable in Beijing, bringing collectively Nigerian and Chinese enterprise leaders to debate constraints affecting monetary transactions and funding flows.

The assembly, themed “Strengthening the Nigeria-China Financial Corridor,” supplied a platform for companies working in each markets to share their experiences and establish sensible options to challenges encountered in transferring funds and conducting transactions.

Discussions emphasised the necessity for extra environment friendly cross-border fee preparations, stronger banking connectivity and a bigger Nigerian banking presence in China. These points are central to the apex financial institution’s efforts to enhance the monetary infrastructure that helps commerce and funding between the 2 economies.

For companies working throughout the hall, the supply of dependable fee channels and banking relationships is essential not just for finishing transactions but additionally for increasing business actions and facilitating investments.

The CBN stated suggestions from the engagement would inform its continued discussions with related monetary establishments and regulatory counterparts on sensible areas of cooperation inside its mandate.

Governor Cardoso, who emphasised the significance of direct engagement with companies, stated that understanding their experiences would assist the apex financial institution establish the monetary and institutional constraints that restrict exercise between Nigeria and China.

This method indicators a shift in direction of grounding coverage engagement within the sensible wants of companies, with the CBN looking for to know the place current preparations fall brief and what enhancements might encourage higher monetary flows.

The Beijing roundtable featured contributions from the CBN Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Philip Ikeazor, Nigeria’s Ambassador to China, Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), Chairperson of Blue Diamond Group, Festus Mbisiogu, and Chairperson of CIG Motors, Chief Diana Chen.

Their participation introduced collectively views from policymakers, diplomatic representatives, and companies with expertise working in each markets.

An interactive listening session shaped the centrepiece of the assembly, permitting members to debate transaction difficulties, alternatives to enhance monetary connectivity, and the potential advantages of increasing Nigerian banks’ presence in China.

Beyond figuring out challenges, the CBN is exploring alternatives to strengthen institutional cooperation between the 2 international locations, notably in fee methods.

Speaking with journalists on the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, Cardoso stated the size of the Chinese economic system and the amount of transactions inside it made deeper collaboration amongst monetary establishments essential.

He stated the CBN was excited about strengthening cooperation involving Chinese banks, Nigerian business banks and different establishments, notably within the funds system. “China has a very robust payments system, and we are exploring whether there are lessons we can learn from it,” Cardoso stated.

The governor disclosed appreciable curiosity in peer evaluations between the People’s Bank of China and the CBN, suggesting that data sharing between the 2 central banks might assist establish helpful approaches to enhancing monetary connectivity.

However, he careworn that the engagements should produce sensible outcomes relatively than stay discussions with out implementation. “Our first engagement here was at the leadership level. When we travel to China, the relevant teams will roll up their sleeves and examine the details to determine what makes sense and what does not. We want to avoid a situation in which these engagements become merely a talk shop.”

The emphasis on technical follow-up is critical to the CBN’s broader goal of translating high-level diplomatic and monetary discussions into workable preparations for companies. By bringing regulators and monetary establishments into nearer contact, the financial institution hopes to establish areas the place cooperation might make transactions simpler and help higher participation in Nigeria’s monetary markets.

The proposed growth of Nigerian banking presence in China additionally types a part of this technique. Stronger banking hyperlinks might enhance entry to monetary providers for companies working throughout each international locations and help the motion of funds related to commerce and funding.

While enhancing fee preparations is a serious precedence, the CBN can be looking for to make use of stronger monetary relationships to draw extra funding from China and different Asian markets into Nigerian monetary devices.

Cardoso famous that regardless of the appreciable liquidity out there in China, funding in Nigerian monetary devices had traditionally remained restricted. “Despite the considerable liquidity available in China, there has not been much investment in Nigerian financial instruments over time,” he stated.

He added that stronger engagement might present a chance to alter the development and generate higher curiosity from Asian markets in Nigerian and African monetary devices.

The potential to draw such funding provides the monetary hall initiative a broader significance past facilitating business funds. It positions stronger institutional relationships as a doable path to connecting Nigerian monetary markets with a wider pool of worldwide capital.

For the CBN, the problem is to make sure that enhancements in Nigeria’s financial fundamentals translate into stronger investor participation and deeper monetary markets. This goal featured prominently at a second engagement in Beijing on October 22, when the CBN and ICBC Standard Bank co-hosted Nigeria’s Economic and Investment Opportunities Sharing Session.

Held underneath the theme “Deepening Cooperation for a Shared Future,” the session introduced collectively Chinese monetary establishments, growth finance establishments, funding funds and corporations lively in Nigeria.

The programme featured a presentation titled “Nigeria Rising: Reformed, Resilient, Ready to Scale,” which highlighted the nation’s reform agenda, macroeconomic progress and funding alternatives.

A panel dialogue involving representatives of the CBN, Standard Bank Group, Flutterwave, Huawei’s Central Bank Business Unit and the China-Africa Fund for Industrial Cooperation examined coverage continuity, investor confidence, cross-border funds, local-currency settlement and the function of monetary innovation in supporting commerce and funding.

The occasion broadened the main target of the day past’s roundtable, transferring from the quick challenges dealing with companies to the broader alternatives out there to traders and monetary establishments.

Together, the 2 Beijing engagements linked Nigeria’s financial reforms with the monetary preparations wanted to help elevated funding and business exercise.

The CBN’s method combines enterprise consultations, regulatory engagement, peer studying, and funding promotion to strengthen the connections between Nigeria’s monetary system and Asian markets.

Ultimately, the success of the initiative will depend upon how successfully these engagements translate into higher fee preparations, stronger banking relationships and elevated funding flows.

By inserting companies on the centre of its consultations and interesting Chinese monetary establishments on funds and market entry, the CBN is looking for to construct a monetary hall able to supporting stronger financial ties between the 2 international locations.

The job forward is to transform these discussions into concrete enhancements that make it simpler for companies to transact, traders to entry alternatives and capital to move into Nigeria’s monetary markets.