The Engagement of China in Nigeria’s Oil Sector: Is the Transformation Positive?

• Main Authors: Gold Kafilah Lola, Evelyn S. Devadason
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Sun Yat-sen University 2018-12-01
• Series: Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations: An International Journal
• Subjects: China-Nigeria relations; foreign investment; trade; aid; oil
• Online Access: http://icaps.nsysu.edu.tw/var/file/131/1131/img/2375/710615428.pdf

Many a time, the relationship between China and Africa is stereotyped as an energy quest to sustain China’s economic growth, leading to anti-Chinese resistance narratives in Africa. Against this background, the observed presence of China in Nigeria, more specifically, warrants attention, as the strategic relationship has expanded significantly to emerge as a powerful, yet questionable, South-South alliance. We document the economic activities of China in Nigeria, through the channels of trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and aid, to frame our understanding of the content of those ties. As the engagement of China in Nigeria is skewed towards the extractive industry, this paper mainly focuses on Nigeria’s oil sector, by tracing the transforming developments and addressing the challenges of Nigeria that relates with economic, environmental and social life, with China’s commercial presence in the oil sector. With the economic dimensions of this contextual engagement, we set out a research agenda that focuses on the effectiveness of commercial activities of China in the Nigerian oil sector.