Loans to Nigeria mutually beneficial, says Chinese envoy

Cui Jianchun, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, says his country’s loans to Nigeria are of mutual benefit.

According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria is indebted to China to the tune of $3.121 billion dollars as of March 31, 2020.

Last month, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, said the federal government has paid $150 million out of $500 million Chinese loan on Abuja-Kaduna railway.

The envoy spoke on Thursday while responding to questions on the benefits of Chinese loans to Nigeria at a seminar titled ‘Learning from the Chinese Communist Party’s History and Creating a Brighter Future’, which held at the University of Abuja.

According to him, Nigeria and China have a history of good friendship and bilateral relations.

He, however, expressed regret that some super powers are exploiting loans to Nigeria by painting a bad picture of China’s intentions.

“Some politicians have tried to use the new colonial system mind-set to say that ‘Ok, if I lend you money, if you cannot pay me back, you will lose your sovereignty’, NAN quoted Jianchun as saying.

“But I want to let you know that the logic is that first, China loves to do something for Nigeria, not only to help, but it is also beneficial to the two countries.

“For example, the Chinese side can work with Nigeria for the railway station because now, money is a big constraint, just like in 1978, we had no money.

“I had a lot of experience at that time. In China, we did not have money, we did not have technology, and we did not know how to manage the economy. But I do believe that now, at this critical time, we need the money to develop this country. We cannot wait for five years, ten years later.

“Sometimes, when we were planting trees for the next generation, some people said we were borrowing money to let the future generation bear the burden. Now, this is not true. Every country has to do something for the next generation, otherwise, the country cannot move forward.”