China’s Trade Development Bureau confirmed as Strategic Country Partner for West Africa IMT Summit & Exhibition 2026

The Trade Development Bureau of China’s Ministry of Commerce (TDB) has been confirmed as a Strategic Country Partner (China) for the West Africa Industrialisation, Manufacturing and Trade (West Africa IMT) Summit & Exhibition 2026, reinforcing a growing shift in Nigeria–China economic relations from expanding trade volumes to anchoring industrial production and long-term investment.

China’s confirmation comes at a pivotal moment. Bilateral trade between Nigeria and China exceeded $22.3 billion in the first ten months of 2025 — a 30 per cent year-on-year increase, underscoring deepening commercial ties and Beijing’s expanding footprint across Nigerian infrastructure, manufacturing and export platforms. Against this backdrop, the summit, themed “Accelerating West Africa’s Sustainable Industrial Revolution for Economic Prosperity,” will take place from 3–5 March 2026 at the Landmark Centre, Lagos.

As Nigeria marks 55 years of diplomatic and economic relations with China, policymakers on both sides have increasingly emphasised the need to move beyond trade expansion toward industrial capacity building, local production and value-added manufacturing. Nigerian economic leaders have called for Chinese manufacturers to anchor production facilities within domestic industrial zones, enabling technology transfer, strengthening supply chains and accelerating job creation.

China’s role as a Strategic Country Partner introduces an important diplomatic and commercial dimension to this critical summit. Confirmed participants include H.E. Sen. John Enoh, Honourable Minister of State for Industry; industry ministers from Benin, Senegal and Ghana;  reflecting the summit’s positioning as a high-level platform for aligning trade, finance and industrial policy.

The summit programme is structured to connect ministerial leadership panels and country investment spotlights with investor roundtables and technical sessions focused on implementation priorities, including securing reliable power and gas supply for industrial clusters, strengthening industrial park governance, mobilising blended finance and risk-sharing instruments for manufacturers, and addressing logistics constraints that limit production competitiveness.

The summit comes at a critical moment for West Africa’s industrial agenda. While trade volumes continue to expand, sustained growth will depend on converting commercial relationships into domestic production capacity and investable manufacturing platforms.

By convening political leadership alongside finance institutions and industrial operators, the summit seeks to narrow the gap between policy ambition and execution — accelerating industrial growth across the region.

 

About the West Africa Industrialisation, Manufacturing & Trade Summit and Exhibition

The West Africa Industrialisation, Manufacturing & Trade Summit is a regional convening that assembles government, industry and finance to accelerate industrial transformation across West Africa. Through ministerial panels, country spotlights, technical sessions and roundtables, the summit focuses on policy and finance measures that advance trade-ready manufacturing and resilient industrial systems.

Visit https://westafricaimt.com/ for registration and more information.