- To also lead African presentation at FOCAC summit on Wednesday
President Bola Tinubu arrived in the Chinese capital of Beijing on Sunday morning, starting his five-day official engagement in the country.
On Sunday morning, Olusegun Dada, the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, announced President Tinubu’s arrival on his official X account, @DOlusegun, and provided a brief overview of the President’s schedule for the day.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrives in Beijing for his Official State Visit to China. He will meet with President Xi Jinping and will hold meetings with Chinese business leaders on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation”, Dada said.
It was gathered on Saturday that all was set for the President to be hosted by the Chinese government as soon as he arrived the Beijing Capital International Airport on Sunday morning.
During a media briefing on Tuesday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale had given an elaborate rundown of Tinubu’s schedule in China, disclosing that the President’s visit would be with a focus on strengthening economic ties and securing investments in key sectors.
“His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will depart for the People’s Republic of China, most specifically, Beijing, from the nation’s capital within the first week of September, to engage in a series of meetings and activities with immediate and future benefit to the Nigerian economy and the Nigerian people.
“First and foremost, His Excellency, Mr. President, will conduct site visits to two major Chinese corporations; Huawei Technologies, as well as the China Rail and Construction Corporation, (CRCC). This is with a view to achieve one of Mr. President’s top agenda items, which is the completion of the Ibadan to Abuja segment of the Lagos to Kano high speed rail line.
“Thereafter His Excellency, Mr. President, will meet 10 selected chief executive officers of 10 major Chinese corporations with assets under management totalling over $3 trillion US dollars across multiple sectors of the economy, including information and communications technology, refining oil and gas, aluminium production, seaport construction, harbour construction and dredging services, financial services, satellite technology development, as well as many other critical sectors”, Ngelale said.
Besides the plan to meet key Chinese investors, Ngelale said: “Mr. President will also meet with his Chinese counterpart in the person of President Xi Jinping, where several MOUs will be signed.
The MOUs will involve agreements in deepening cooperation, in green economy, in agriculture, in satellite technology development, in media enterprise development and promotion, as well as blue economic development and national planning cooperation.
“This is going to be part of a broader engagement where the two heads of state will discuss matters of mutual interest across, not just the economy, but also on issues of national, regional and international security”, he said.
“Mr. President, would thereafter join the FOCAC Summit, where several African heads of state will be present to engage with Chinese leaders on various important matters.
“At this FOCAC Summit, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his capacity as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, will deliver remarks on behalf of the region and certainly would proceed to the high level peace and security plenary, where he will further deliver remarks on peace and security in the region and in Africa in his capacity as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This engagement is expected to yield very tangible, immediate and future dividends for the sake of the Nigerian economy and for the benefit of the Nigerian people and the President is placing a premium on deliverables, ensuring that this is not a talk-shop, but that this is something that will yield results for our people, justifying any expenditure that is made during the course of this trip”, he said.