Commentary
Matthew T. Page, Feyi Fawehinmi
{
"authors": [
"Matthew T. Page"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [
"Violence and Conflict"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "democracy",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "DCG",
"programs": [
"Democracy, Conflict, and Governance"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Southern, Eastern, and Western Africa",
"East Asia",
"China"
],
"topics": [
"Democracy",
"Economy",
"Trade",
"Security"
]
}
Source: Getty
Other
The Intersection of China’s Commercial Interests and Nigeria’s Conflict Landscape
China’s strategic interests in Nigeria are deeply intertwined with the country’s complicated conflict landscape, and Chinese commercial activities have both constructive and potentially destabilizing effects on Nigeria’s peace and security.
Published on Sep 5, 2018
Source: United States Institute of Peace
Like Washington, Beijing has an abiding strategic interest in promoting stability and security in Nigeria—the largest economy in Africa, a major oil and gas producer, and on track to become the world’s third most populous country by 2050. Yet from the Boko Haram insurgency in its northeast to farmer-herder clashes in its Middle Belt region and militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta, insecurity undermines Nigeria’s socioeconomic development. This Special Report examines how China’s economic interests intersect with Nigeria’s complicated conflict landscape.
Summary
- The foundation of China’s strategic interest in Nigeria is its robust commercial and investment footprint—especially the thriving bilateral trading relationship. Nigeria’s strategic importance as an export destination, source of oil outside the Middle East, and home to a growing consumer population means that it will continue to receive special attention from Beijing.
- Nigeria remains one of the world’s most challenging business environments, even for risk-tolerant Chinese entrepreneurs. Despite this, many Chinese-owned small businesses and larger companies have prospered and are contributing to Nigeria’s socioeconomic development—and thus the overall security and stability of Africa’s most populous country.
- Nevertheless, practices associated with some Chinese enterprises—especially bribery and involvement in illegal mining, logging, and fishing—are problematic and potentially destabilizing. Although these activities rarely spark violence themselves, they exacerbate homegrown conflict drivers such as resource competition, misgovernance, and policing failures.
- Like Washington, Beijing has an abiding strategic interest in promoting stability and security in Nigeria, one of the world’s most conflict-prone states. By working with Nigerian and Chinese counterparts as well as private-sector actors, U.S. policymakers could help rein in problematic business practices and promote responsible ones while exploring new collaborative opportunities for U.S. investment in Nigeria.
This report was originally published by the U.S. Institute of Peace.
About the Author
Matthew T. Page
Former Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Matthew T. Page was a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
- The Two Voting Blocs That Could Transform Nigerian Politics
- Halting the Kleptocratic Capture of Local Government in NigeriaPaper
Matthew T. Page, Abdul H. Wando
Recent Work
More Work from Carnegie China
- Who Paid for China’s Last Debt Cleanup, and Who Will Pay for the Next?Commentary
China’s banking crisis in the 2000s was resolved by transferring the costs to households through financial repression—a decision that recapitalized the banks while exacerbating the structural imbalances that continue to shape the Chinese economy today.
Michael Pettis
- Caught in the Middle: Chinese Biotech Firms’ Divergent Responses to U.S. SanctionsCommentary
Chinese biotech companies have been on the receiving end of U.S. economic coercion. Yet their responses have differed significantly because firm and state interests are not uniformly aligned. For Washington, treating all Chinese tech firms the same, irrespective of their actual interests, risks pushing them farther into Beijing’s corner.
Xue Gong
- Are Data Centers the Solution to China’s Renewables Excess Capacity?Commentary
China’s latest energy plan explicitly calls for integrating data centers into the electricity system, particularly connecting them to green energy. It appears Beijing wants to use compute as a source of domestic demand to absorb renewables excess capacity.
Damien Ma
- Trump and Xi Are Angling for Three Years of StabilityCommentary
But their "principal to principal" model will only be as effective as the political strength of each leader back home.
Damien Ma
- China Sells Stability Amid American VolatilityCommentary
U.S. unpredictability has allowed China to capitalize on its positioning as the “responsible great power”. Paradoxically, the more China wins the perception game, the more likely expectations will rise for Beijing to deliver not just words but to demonstrate with its deeds.
Chong Ja Ian
