Nigeria’s economic engagements with China have taken on a new dimension, with trade between Nigeria and China’s southern Guangxi region reaching $320 million in 2024, underscoring Beijing’s strategy of leveraging its provincial hubs to deepen African ties.

The disclosure came from Zhang Xiaoqin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guangxi People’s Congress, during a visit to the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP) in Abuja. Zhang led a high-level delegation, joined by Zhou Hongyou, Head of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, in what observers see as part of a broader push by China to embed its subnational governments more firmly into Africa’s economic corridors.

Guangxi’s Rising Profile

According to Zhang, Guangxi is positioning itself as a strategic gateway in southern China, hosting the China-ASEAN Expo and serving as a growing trade hub. He noted that trade with Nigeria rose 21% last year, cementing Guangxi’s role in Beijing’s “regional diplomacy” approach.

The Vice Chairman extended invitations to Nigerian businesses and tourists, citing Guangxi’s strengths in fruit production, mining, digital economy, and tourism—sectors China is keen to internationalize through partnerships. The region, long overshadowed by industrial powerhouses like Guangdong and Jiangsu, is now being pitched as a complementary partner for African economies looking to diversify beyond oil and raw materials.

Mr. Zhou Hongyou of the Chinese Embassy emphasized the cultural and economic similarities between Guangxi and Nigeria, stressing that subnational-to-national linkages could accelerate trade diversification. His remarks mirror Beijing’s strategy of embedding “people-to-people” narratives into economic diplomacy—a tactic often deployed to win African goodwill.

Nigeria’s Strategic Calculus

On the Nigerian side, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, Director-General of the NCSP, used the visit to spotlight Nigeria’s upgraded ties with China, now elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership following the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Tegbe reassured the delegation that the NCSP would continue to monitor agreed projects under FOCAC, oversee strategic investments of national interest, and coordinate Presidential initiatives in manufacturing, agriculture, and infrastructure. He pledged to lead an NCSP mission to Guangxi to “learn from China’s model of large-scale modernization,” framing the visit as part of a broader knowledge-exchange agenda.

Crucially, Tegbe positioned Guangxi as a new partner alongside Hunan Province, pledging to pursue practical opportunities in agricultural processing, manufacturing equipment, and fruit value chains—areas Nigeria is desperate to develop in its industrialization push.

Where the $320m fits in the map of China–Africa trade

Viewed against the aggregate of China–Africa commerce, the Guangxi–Nigeria number is a sliver. China’s trade with the African continent runs in the tens of billions of dollars; provincial figures such as Guangxi’s bilateral tally are therefore best read as complementary slices of a much larger whole.

Guangxi’s engagement is notable not because it reorders the ledger of China’s biggest partners, but because it signals two practical shifts: first, greater provincial initiative in Africa beyond the coastal manufacturing hubs; second, a diversification of China–Africa trade that now includes more regional Chinese players and more targeted, sectoral projects.

This latest engagement comes against the backdrop of $20 billion in investment commitments that Tegbe previously announced in July 2025, secured through recent Nigeria–China negotiations. At the time, he stressed that strengthening bilateral collaboration with Beijing was central to driving Nigeria’s industrialization agenda and reducing reliance on volatile oil exports.

The NCSP has increasingly become the anchor of Nigeria’s China strategy, tasked not only with implementing FOCAC projects but also with forging parallel partnerships outside formal frameworks. Analysts say this dual-track approach is necessary, given that many FOCAC projects often face implementation delays.

A Shift in China’s Africa Playbook

What is striking about Guangxi’s engagement is how China is decentralizing its Africa strategy. While Beijing and major coastal provinces like Guangdong have traditionally dominated Africa’s trade relations, provinces like Guangxi and Hunan are now carving out roles of their own. This allows China to expand Africa engagement beyond megaprojects into more localized, sector-driven collaborations.

For Nigeria, this diversification could bring advantages—Guangxi’s focus on fruit and agriculture aligns with Abuja’s need to strengthen food security, while its mining experience dovetails with Nigeria’s push to revive its solid minerals sector.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has launched the nationwide distribution of 1,653 solar-powered cold chain units, worth about $11 million, to strengthen the country’s vaccine storage and delivery system.

The new equipment, procured through the support of Gavi, UNICEF, WHO, and other partners, is expected to boost immunization coverage, particularly in remote and underserved communities where electricity supply remains unreliable.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, Dr. Muyi Aina, Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said the distribution aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes quality primary healthcare delivery.

He disclosed that the Northwest zone would receive the largest share of the allocation, with 448 units, followed by Northcentral with 308. The Southwest is expected to get 343 units, the South-South 221, the Southeast 205, and the Northeast 128. Altogether, 884 units—representing 53 percent of the total—will be deployed to northern states, while 759, or 47 percent, will go to the south.

“The first batch of 525 units is already warehoused in Abuja, while the rest have landed in-country and are being dispatched. Each unit comes with spare parts, a 10-year maintenance agreement, and temperature monitoring devices to ensure durability,” Aina said.

He explained that the equipment would guarantee reliable vaccine storage across the country, enabling health workers to reach communities previously underserved due to a lack of infrastructure.

UNICEF’s Chief of Health in Nigeria, Dr. Maharajan Muthu, described the investment as a game-changer, stressing that cold chain infrastructure is the backbone of any successful immunization programme.

“This handover includes 1,653 solar direct drive refrigerators, 165 sets of spare parts, temperature monitoring devices, and 30-day temperature recorders, valued at approximately $11 million. This investment will significantly enhance Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure, enabling outreach to remote communities and ensuring that safe and effective vaccines reach every child, leaving no one behind,” Muthu said.

He noted, however, that while the new cold chain equipment addresses critical gaps, additional efforts are required in areas such as asset registration, logistics tracking, sustainable financing, and routine maintenance. UNICEF, he said, remains committed to working with Nigeria to strengthen these systems.

Representing the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, through his deputy, Dr. Alex Chimbaru, emphasized that the initiative ties into the Immunization Agenda 2030, a global strategy that advocates equitable access to vaccines and sustainable health systems.

“These solar-powered refrigerators will play a vital role in maintaining vaccine quality and safety, especially in remote and energy-challenged communities,” he said, adding that leveraging solar technology not only ensures potency of vaccines but also promotes environmental sustainability.

Why solar-powered cold chain matters

Cold chain technology ensures vaccines remain at stable, safe temperatures from storage to administration. In a country like Nigeria, where electricity supply is unreliable and health facilities in rural areas often operate without power, the adoption of solar-powered refrigerators provides a lifeline. It prevents vaccine spoilage, reduces wastage, and expands access to children in hard-to-reach communities.

Health experts say this investment could be pivotal for Nigeria, which has struggled with low immunization rates and recurring outbreaks of preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and diphtheria. The government aims to bridge health gaps between urban centers and rural communities by deploying solar-powered cold chain units across all states and the FCT.

Backstory: A history of setbacks in vaccine storage and immunization

Nigeria’s immunization system has long battled gaps in cold chain infrastructure. Decades of poor investment in rural healthcare left many primary health centers without reliable electricity or refrigeration, forcing vaccines to be transported in ice boxes that often failed to maintain the required temperature. This led to frequent spoilage, wasted doses, and disrupted immunization campaigns.

During the 1990s and 2000s, Nigeria recorded some of the lowest vaccination rates in the world, with millions of children missing routine immunizations. This weakness became evident in the prolonged struggle to eradicate polio, where storage and delivery breakdowns repeatedly stalled progress. Although Nigeria was declared polio-free in 2020, lapses in routine immunization coverage remain a concern, with outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles and diphtheria still reported in parts of the country.

Efforts to strengthen the system have historically relied heavily on international partners. Past donations of cold chain equipment from UNICEF, Gavi, and WHO often faced sustainability challenges due to poor maintenance and inadequate training of local health workers. Many of those refrigerators broke down within a few years, leaving facilities once again dependent on an unreliable power supply.

It is against this backdrop that the current deployment of solar-powered cold chain units is seen as critical. Unlike conventional equipment, these units are designed to operate independently of the unstable electricity grid, providing a more sustainable solution to Nigeria’s longstanding vaccine storage challenges.

The cold chain expansion is also expected to bolster public confidence in the immunization system, reduce vaccine wastage, and support Nigeria’s broader push to achieve universal health coverage.