China has moved to reinforce its longstanding diplomatic position on Taiwan within Nigeria, using a high-level policy dialogue held in Abuja to firmly reiterate that any recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign entity runs contrary to international law and threatens the foundation of Sino-Nigerian relations. 

The session, organised by the Centre for China Studies and the Centre for Contemporary China-Africa Research, brought together Chinese officials, diplomats, academics, and policy analysts to examine Cross-Strait relations and the implications for China-Africa cooperation in a shifting global order.

At the centre of the proceedings was Dong Hairong, Counsellor at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Nigeria, who described Taiwan as an inalienable part of China’s territory and warned that recent moves by Taiwanese authorities to expand their footprint on the African continent were a direct challenge to the global consensus anchored in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758. That resolution, adopted in 1971, is cited by Beijing as the definitive legal basis affirming that the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate representative of China at the United Nations a position it argues settles the question conclusively and irreversibly.

Hairong directed particular attention at two recent developments she described as provocative. The first was the visit of Taiwan’s leader, Lai Ching-te, to Eswatini the only African country still maintaining formal diplomatic relations with Taipei an engagement she criticised as a covert effort to expand separatist activities on the continent.

The second involved reported interactions between Taiwanese officials and some Nigerian journalists, which she suggested reflected a broader pattern of attempting to cultivate influence in countries that officially adhere to the One-China Principle. “China must and will surely be reunified.

National reunification is an irresistible trend of history,” she declared.

The dialogue also heard contributions from Nigerian academics and policy voices. Sam Amadi, director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts and dean of the Law Faculty at Ave Maria University, argued that Africa’s own historical experience with territorial integrity placed Nigerian and African positions in natural alignment with China’s stance. He noted that the founding principle of the African Union has consistently been the preservation of inherited territorial boundaries, making support for a unified China philosophically consistent with established African diplomatic tradition.

Analysts at the forum further examined the broader geopolitical stakes of the Taiwan question, warning that any escalation in the Taiwan Strait carried significant risks for global trade, semiconductor supply chains, and international security well beyond Asia’s shores. Participants called for sustained diplomacy and mutual restraint as the most reliable path to preserving regional stability.

The dialogue takes place against the backdrop of a deepening Nigeria-China partnership that has been years in the making. Nigeria and China marked 55 years of diplomatic relations in February 2026, a milestone that Chinese Ambassador Yu Dunhai described as an occasion to accelerate cooperation across trade, infrastructure, and people-to-people exchanges. In 2024, President Bola Tinubu and Chinese President Xi Jinping elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing, with a joint statement explicitly reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to the One-China Principle and its opposition to any form of Taiwanese independence.

Nigeria’s legislature has also been vocal on the matter. Earlier this year, Hon. Jaafaru Yakubu, Chairman of the House Committee on China-Nigeria Parliamentary Relations, issued a sharp rebuke to a fellow lawmaker who had referred to collaboration with the “Taiwanese government” at a workshop in Osun State, clarifying that the Taiwan Trade Office in Lagos operates strictly as a commercial entity with no diplomatic standing.

He warned that Nigeria’s parliament would resist any attempt to use the office’s presence to create ambiguity around the country’s foreign policy position, reaffirming that Nigeria has recognised the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China since 1971. That position, he emphasised, was non-negotiable.

With 53 of Africa’s 54 nations aligned behind the One-China Principle, and China’s bilateral influence across the continent deepening through infrastructure investment, trade, and security cooperation, Beijing’s resolve to close any diplomatic gaps on the Taiwan question including in Nigeria is likely to remain a consistent feature of its engagement with African partners.