International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviews Vol.7 No.2, August 2017; p.127 – 135, (ISSN: 2276-8645) THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF NIGERIA – CHINA BILATERAL RELATIONS NWACHUKWU, LAMBERT CHIDI, PhD Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Madonna University, Nigeria, Okija Campus. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +234(0)8033618400 ABSTRACT This paper interrogated Nigeria – China bilateral relations. China’s relation with Nigeria has recently become a burning issue. This has to do with China’s seemingly interest or quest to dominate the Nigerian market and economy. Accordingly, scholars and commentators alike have expressed various opinions on the issue without any meaningful conclusions. While some view the relationship as beneficial to China and detrimental to the overall development of Nigeria, others see it as the spring post or opportunity that Nigeria needs to develop and compete in the world market. This study which adopted the political economy approach as its theoretical framework made a meaningful contribution to this all important issue. The paper adopted the secondary sources of data collection from textbooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, government publications, internet materials, and other relevant works related to the study. The study revealed that Nigeria – China bilateral relations have benefited China more than Nigeria and that the engagement is booming but at the expense of the Nigerian state. Overall, Chinese engagement with Nigeria is better for the Chinese than it is for Nigeria. This according to the study is evident in the fact that the balance of trade has remained in favour of China beginning from the era of informal ties till date. While Nigeria is in fact benefiting, the country seems to be merely riding the coattails of the Chinese who are making the most money. Accordingly, the paper argues that Nigeria must do more than sell oil or depend on China for trade guarantees. Nigeria should as a matter of urgency and necessity use her ongoing bilateral ties to leverage on the Chinese success and adapt the lessons to her own circumstances. The relationship must add to the basis for long term investment in education, research and technology. The implication here is that Nigeria must improve on governance and democracy in the country so as to be in a better position to identify and pursue policies that will readily respond to emerging changes and trends in its engagement with China and in economic relationships around the globe. Introduction China’s first contact with Africa generally was in the early 15th century when some Chinese traders and explorers landed along the coast of Africa. This foundation was laid by Zheng He, the famous navigator of China’s Ming Dynasty, who led the then largest fleet in the world to visit more than 30 countries and regions in Asia and Africa. Zheng He, who lived from 1371 to 1435, undertook the African expedition with around 200 ships and 27,800 people. All these took place almost a hundred years before Europe discovered and colonised Africa. Sino – African relations therefore, data back to centuries. In Nigeria’s case, the country’s contact with China unofficially, only began in the 1950s, 1957 to be precise. In fact, Nigeria’s initial contact with the Chinese was through Egypt. It is on record that Chan Hang – Kang, commercial officer in the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, established unofficial trade links with Nigeria, along with Tunisia, Libya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in 1957. During the colonial era, it was a taboo for Nigerians to have anything to do with the communist world which China belonged to. Nigerians like Funmilayo Ransome – Kuti, a frontline Nigerian political and social activist, much to the chagrin of the colonial authorities, secretly visited Berlin and Beijing in the 1950s to attend meetings. Her application for the renewal of her passport was turned down. All contacts with the Eastern bloc countries and China were prohibited and proscribed. All Nigerian students who obtained benevolent scholarships from undisclosed sources and Nigerian trade union leaders who attended international conferences in those countries has to be smuggled out of Nigerian through Ghana. But this position was reserved in 1958 by the Nigerian Prime Minister, Tafawa Belewa, in a policy statement in 127 International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviews Vol.7 No.2, August 2017; p.127 – 135, (ISSN: 2276-8645) parliament which states in part: “we shall, of course endeavour to remain in friendly terms with every nation which promises and respects our sovereignty…” (Momoh, 2009). Nigeria’s first official contact with the People’s Republic of China came in 1960 when China was invited to Nigeria’s independence celebrations. China’s delegation delivered congratulatory messages from Zhou Enlai and the late Vice – Premier, Marshall Chen Yi. In their message, the Chinese leaders acclaimed “the great victory won by the Nigerian people in their struggle against colonialism”. The delegation then toured parts of the country before returning to China. Nigeria reciprocated this gesture when, on gaining admission to the United Nations Organisation (UNO) later that year, she supported China’s membership in the world body. This she did by voting against the anti – China American procedural motion on 8th October 1960 (Owoeye, 1986). Despite the foregoing development, it was obvious that the government of Prime Minister Tafawa Belewa had no plans then to open diplomatic relations with China or any country of the Eastern bloc. The reason for this are not really far fetched. At independence, Nigeria political leadership was not only pro – west but also anti – communist. The resultant effect of this was diplomatic isolation between Nigeria and communist or socialist states of which China was one. Moreover, the Belewa regime got power from the colonialists on a platter of gold hence they had no grudge whatsoever against the British or their Western allies. Besides, by education and social disposition, Belewa and members of his government shared world views and ideologies similar to that of the erstwhile colonial masters. This is why according to Owoeye (1986), the Chinese posture as a vanguard of the proletarian nations against the bourgeois/imperialist nations made no impression on the conservative regime in Lagos. However, immediately after the Chinese cultural revolution and her admission into the security council of United nations in 1971, Nigeria and many other African countries responded to these developments by recognising China as a major world power and accordingly entered into diplomatic relations with her (China) in the spirit of non – alignment. China and Nigeria formally established diplomatic relations on February 10th, 1971. China opened its embassy in Lagos on 6th April, 1971 while Nigeria reciprocated in October of that year. Thus a mutually, reinforcing and rewarding relationship between both countries began in earnest. The benefits of the relationship between Nigeria and China have now become most evident. In Lagos, Onitsha, Aba, Kano, and in almost every Nigerian market, one can buy something Chinese – textile, food items, drugs, electronics, phones, computers and cooking utensils. Rail rehabilitation which is currently steeped in controversy is under Chinese Company. Nigeria’s communications satellite (NIMCOSAT 1) was designed, built and funded by China. The NIMCOSAT 1 was also launched in China. Nigeria is therefore, doing so much today with China in terms of trade and investments. Nigeria offers China both a market for its goods and vast supplies of untapped resources, including oil. Also Nigerian government, in recent times, have found Chinese companies more sensitive to economic challenges than their western counterparts. Indeed, the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration (1999 – 2007) came with increase in the tempo of Nigeria – China relationship. This is understandable since Nigeria had just freed itself from the status of a pariah state which Nigeria’s burdensome military dictatorship forced on it. But how beneficial really is Nigeria’s relationship with China? Indeed, there is divergent of opinions on this all important question. While some people view the relationship as beneficial to China and detrimental to the development of Nigeria, others see it as the spring post or opportunity that Nigeria needs to develop and compete in the world market. There are therefore, different shades of opinions or views on Nigeria – China engagement. It is in the light of the foregoing that this paper aims at making an important contribution to this all important debate. The work will do this using the political economy approach. Theoretical Framework This paper will adopt the political economy approach as its theoretical framework. The political economy approach evolved in the foundation of classical political economy and derives its roots from the works of Karl Marx. It was Marx, who building on the works of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and James Mill, first attempted to re-establish political economy as a comprehensive area of study concerned with not only management and distribution of social wealth but also the class relation including class conflict which evolves from such, as well as the impact of these on the development of society from one stage to the other. According to Karl Marx, political economy is a science not only for understanding society but also fundamentally for changing it (Nna, 2000). Simply put, political economy is the science of the laws governing the production and exchange of the material means of subsistence in human society. It is the science of the conditions and forms under, which the various human societies have produced and exchanged and on this basis have distributed their 128 International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviews Vol.7 No.2, August 2017; p.127 – 135, (ISSN: 2276-8645) products. But the subject matter of political economy is not the process of production itself, but the social relations into which human beings enter in the process of production, exchange and consumption.