Nigeria’s Ambassador to China, Lt Gen Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (rtd), has outlined practical financial priorities for deeper bilateral ties, including reliable cross-border payments, export finance and long-term investment.

Speaking at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ‘Strengthening the Nigeria–China Financial Corridor’ roundtable in Beijing, Dambazau said financial cooperation should deliver measurable benefits for businesses and citizens in both countries.

“For businesses, financial cooperation has a practical meaning. It means paying a supplier reliably, receiving export earnings promptly, securing affordable working capital, and obtaining long-term finance for a viable investment,” he said.

“Our task is to make these transactions easier, more transparent and more accessible.”

The Ambassador’s contribution opened a discussion in which Nigerian and Chinese businesses connected the financial corridor’s wider ambitions with their experience of settlement, investment and access to financial services.

Dambazau emphasised the importance of clear information on payment channels, transaction costs and settlement times. Stronger commercial-bank relationships, supported by effective engagement between regulators, could help resolve operational difficulties and reduce uncertainty, he said.

“Payment delay can become a shipment delay, a production interruption or a lost business opportunity,” he said.

On local-currency settlement, he said the bilateral swap framework’s value to businesses depended on access, adequate liquidity, competitive pricing and a clear understanding of how the arrangements worked. Settlement in local currencies should remain a commercial choice supported by transparent terms and sound risk management.

He also called for financial cooperation that supported Nigerian production and exports.

“Export finance, letters of credit, credit insurance, and working capital facilities can help businesses turn market opportunities into completed transactions,” he said.

Dambazau advocated stronger financial flows in both directions, connecting finance with the practical requirements of supplying the Chinese market. 

He also highlighted patient capital for productive investment and safeguards that protected legitimate commerce while allowing smaller businesses to participate.

The embassy, he said, stood ready to facilitate connections and bring commercial concerns to the appropriate institutions.

CIG Motors Chairman Diana Chen reinforced the importance of predictability from the perspective of a Chinese business with an established operating presence in Nigeria.

She described the company’s factories and employment of Nigerian engineers, technicians and managers as evidence of a relationship extending beyond imports into production and skills development.

“What we ask for today is not grand architecture. It is continuity, predictability, and the right confidence that when we commit capital, we will one day be able to bring our returns home in good order,” she said.

Chen said the financial system should keep pace with Chinese businesses’ evolution in Nigeria, including their need for patient capital alongside short-term trade finance.

Nigerian businessman, Festus Mbisiogu, welcomed the opportunity for operators in China to explain payment difficulties directly to the CBN leadership. 

He described uncertainty over settlement routes, suppliers requesting RMB payments and transactions delayed within banking channels.

Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, credited improvements in Nigeria’s compliance infrastructure and international credibility with strengthening the environment in which Nigerian financial businesses engaged foreign counterparts. 

He commended CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso and his team for implementing their policy direction.

Contributions from Fincra and XTransfer focused on bringing more transactions into formal, visible channels and using payment infrastructure to serve businesses at scale. XTransfer’s representative also highlighted smaller merchants’ exposure to fraud and their limited capacity to manage complex payment-verification requirements.

A Nigerian student extended the discussion beyond commerce, describing difficulties with tuition payments and transfers between Nigeria and China, including high charges and exposure to fraudulent intermediaries.

Responding to the contributions, Cardoso said the delegation had come to understand and address the financial difficulties businesses and Nigerians in China encountered.

He described the CBN’s role as catalytic, with banks central to delivering many of the services discussed, and committed the institution to following through on the issues raised.

“We want to ensure that whatever it is we discuss, we are able to ensure that we can execute on it,” Cardoso said.

The governor reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to consistent policy, transparency and a functioning foreign-exchange market. 

He also acknowledged the need for clearer communication about instruments such as the bilateral swap.

Cardoso said the CBN had taken detailed notes of stakeholders’ contributions, including concerns about business payments and students’ transfers, to inform its work on strengthening financial connectivity between the two economies.