A Study On China-Nigeria Railway Infrastructure Cooperation

The rapid development of economic globalization and regional integration in the 21 st century has put forward higher requirements for infrastructure construction in various countries,especially railway infrastructure construction.An efficient railway network could stimulate national economic growth and promote social integration.As the largest economy in west Africa and the most populous country in Africa,Nigeria is in the stage of rapid development of industrialization and urbanization.In order to achieve national rejuvenation,enhance transportation capacity,and improve transportation infrastructure interconnection,it has an increasing demand for railway construction,and it has begun to look for railway partners.This has brought development opportunities for China's advanced railway technology to go to Africa,and would further expand China-Nigeria economic and trade cooperation.With the support of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation,the Going Out policy,and the Belt and Road Initiative,the Chinese government,in accordance with the Nigerian Railway Development Plan,adheres to the principle of “mutual benefit and win-win” and actively launches China-Nigeria railway infrastructure cooperation.By the end of 2019,the two countries had signed more than 10 railway project contracts with a total contract value of USD 36.1 billion,covering both old railway repair projects and new railway construction ones.Focused on China-Nigeria railway infrastructure cooperation,this thesis analyzes the current status of Nigerian railways and the status quo of ChinaNigeria railway cooperation,discusses the achievements and challenges in cooperation and quality upgrade for infrastructure cooperation,and put forward relevant countermeasures,with the hope to enrich China-Nigeria cooperation studies.This thesis is divided into six parts for narration.In the Introduction,according to the information found,it reveals that there is not much research on China-Nigeria railway infrastructure cooperation at home and abroad.Most of the domestic research focuses on China and Africa infrastructure cooperation,China-Nigeria economic and trade relations,and Nigeria railway case studies.Overseas researches mainly focus on the relations between the two countries and Nigerian railways.A few papers mention China's role in the development of Nigerian railways.This thesis adopts research methods including literature review,historical analysis and induction.Based on the literature review,it traces the history of Nigerian railways,analyzes and summarizes the developments of China-Nigeria railway cooperation throughout all the years,and raises the suggestions for China-Nigeria railway infrastructure cooperation from the national level and from the perspective of enterprises,aiming at promoting and upgrading the cooperation between two countries.The first chapter discusses the current status of China-Nigeria infrastructure cooperation.First,it explores the railway cooperation background,the first railway in Nigeria was built by British colonial government in 1898,and continued to be used after the country's independence.However,due to the lack of the maintenance of technology and assets,with poor management and operation of the Nigerian railway company and insufficient government funding,the overall development of the railways was lagged behind and gradually lost its glory.Under the background of railway history,the policy guidance of the two governments,the competitive advantage of China's diplomatic principles,and China's world-leading railway construction technology have promoted the railway cooperation.Secondly,it elaborates two popular cooperative models: EPC and PPP.Finally,it analyzes the main characteristics of railway cooperation: the diversified railway projects are mostly funded by policy banks,with large Chinese state-owned enterprises as main contractors participating in railway operation in the way of service export.The second chapter summarizes the achievements of China-Nigeria railway cooperation based on specific projects.The railway cooperation has brought mutual benefits for both China and Nigeria.Through these projects,the Nigerian railways have been upgraded and the national connectivity has been improved,which has helped create jobs,satisfy people's needs and boost economy.At the same time,Chinese enterprises have been provided with the opportunities to release quality surplus capacity,balance supply and demand at home,reduce the enterprises' pressure for technological innovation and expand their overseas markets.In this process,the two countries have achieved a win-win situation in which they learn from each other's strengths and make up for their own weaknesses,which also has deepened China-Nigeria friendly relations and expanded their infrastructure cooperation.The third chapter analyzes the challenges faced by China-Nigeria railway infrastructure cooperation.Under the influence of various differences between the two countries and fierce international competition,the main challenges are as follows: First,the uncertainty of Nigerian government policies and official corruption affect the sustainability of railway projects.Second,due to cultural differences,issues like appropriation and compensation of land,if not well processed,will affect the railway construction and corporate reputation.Third,due to the different audit standards,service styles,languages and cultures,the consulting companies cannot play a full role in implementing Chinese railway standards.Fourth,Nigeria's complex natural environment and serious terrorism have brought diseases and security threats to the daily construction of railways.Fifth,some Western media have constantly put forward biased comments on the booming China-Africa relations,affecting public sentiments and damaging China's image.The fourth chapter summarizes the whole thesis and puts forward relevant countermeasures and suggestions from the perspective of government and enterprises.Based on the analysis of China-Nigeria railway infrastructure cooperation,the thesis finds that,with the deepening of China-Nigeria railway cooperation,the relevant technology is constantly innovating and upgrading,the cooperation modes are diversified,and the cooperation projects tend to cover multiple domains.Chinese standards have been adopted in railway projects,creating favorable conditions for strengthening China-Africa industrial cooperation,providing a practice field for Chinese enterprises to go global,and enhancing the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing in the international market.In the future,China-Nigeria railway infrastructure cooperation will face more and more complex challenges,but China will always go upwind to show the image of a responsible major country to the world,helping Nigeria to realize the independent construction of railways at an early date,transforming rich natural and human resources into driving forces for its economic development,improving people's livelihood,promoting industrialization and urbanization,and setting a model for China-Africa infrastructure cooperation.