Nigeria’s Trade With China

Every morning, importers in Alaba, Idumota, and Onitsha markets face the same arithmetic. Goods made in Guangzhou or Yiwu must be paid for in dollars, and dollars must be bought at a price that moves with the vagaries of the foreign exchange market. A cost that should be simple becomes a gamble. That daily gamble helps explain why the latest moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with Chinese financial institutions matter far beyond the boardroom.
Nigeria is  pushing for stronger cross-border payment arrangements with China. An upcoming visit to Beijing by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) , Yemi Cardoso, after meeting Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of ...