On September 21, Consul General Yan Yuqing attended the National Day and Farewell Reception hosted by the Consulate General and delivered a speech. The full text is as follows:

H. E. First Lady, Lagos State Dr. Mrs Claudiana  ibijoke Sanwoolu,

The Honourable Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, Secretary to the Lagos State Government,

Your Excellency,

Members of the Consular Corps,

Fellow Chinese,

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Today, we gather here to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 66th anniversary of the independence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Nigeria, and the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.

Today's event also serves as my farewell reception. I arrived in Lagos on May 25, 2023, and became the eighth Consul General of China in Lagos, as well as the first female Consul General. Three years may seem both short and long: short in the time we have shared together, yet long in the friendships we have forged along the way.

On behalf of Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Ambassador Yu Dunhai, and all my colleagues at the Consulate General of China in Lagos, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our distinguished guests.

I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to friends from all walks of life who have long cared about and supported China's development and worked for China-Nigeria friendship.

To our fellow Chinese in Nigeria, the staff of Chinese enterprises and institutions, Confucius Institute teachers, and Chinese students, I extend my sincere greetings.

I want to give special thanks to the artists of the Hunan Provincial Culture and Tourism Delegation, whose wonderful performances have added warmth and poetry to tonight's gathering.

On July 1 this year, we celebrated the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The CPC has always stayed true to its original aspiration and mission — seeking happiness for the Chinese people, rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and greater harmony for the world.

We have achieved the historic feat of eradicating absolute poverty. Nearly 100 million rural residents who once lived in poverty are now living better lives — a solemn commitment to our people. We have stayed committed to peaceful development and firmly practiced multilateralism. We never seek hegemony or bully other countries, and we have always worked to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Seventy-seven years of hard work and steady progress. Under the strong leadership of the CPC, China has opened up a path to modernization based on independence and peaceful development, and made a historic leap from poverty and backwardness to prosperity.

Today's China has a complete and solid industrial system and a firmly established agricultural base. Grain production has stayed stable year after year, firmly safeguarding the bottom line of food security. Our industrial system covers all sectors and is complete and self-reliant. Scientific and technological innovation keeps generating new momentum, and in many fields we have moved from catching up and keeping pace to leading the way.

The Chinese economy today is resilient, full of potential, and vibrant. In 2025, China's economic output exceeded 140 trillion yuan for the first time, up 5 percent year on year, keeping its place as the world's second largest economy. Per capita GDP reached 13,953 US dollars, above 13,000 dollars for the third year in a row.

New quality productive forces are growing fast. New breakthroughs keep emerging in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, and deep-sea and deep-space exploration, giving a steady boost to high-quality development. China has built the world's largest education, social security, and healthcare systems. The well-being of our people has improved across the board.

China has been actively implementing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative. High-quality Belt and Road cooperation is driving global growth and bringing certainty, stability, and positive energy to a world of turbulence and transformation.

This year is the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan. Facing a complex and fast-changing environment at home and abroad, China remains firmly committed to high-quality development. We are expanding high-standard opening up, cutting tariff barriers, and keeping trade flows smooth, embracing the world with an even more open attitude.

To walk with China is to walk with opportunity. To invest in China is to invest in the future. From Belt and Road cooperation to promoting the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation and the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, China has kept its promises with concrete actions and given back to the world with a strong sense of responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends!

This year holds extraordinary significance for China-Nigeria and China-Africa relations. Under the strategic guidance of our two heads of state, and with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation as our two core platforms, the China-Nigeria comprehensive strategic partnership has kept deepening and delivering solid results. Over the past three years and more, I have worked with friends from across the consular district to make the pie of our mutually beneficial cooperation bigger and bigger.

First, political mutual trust has kept growing, and our development plans have been well aligned. No matter how the international landscape changes, our commitment to a China-Nigeria friendship that endures from generation to generation remains unchanged. Our support for Nigeria in independently exploring a development path suited to its national conditions remains unchanged. And our resolve to help Nigeria improve livelihoods, revitalize industries, and achieve development remains unchanged.

The two sides have firmly supported each other and respected each other's core interests. We have deepened exchanges on governance experience, and worked to align China's Belt and Road Initiative with Nigeria's Renewed Hope Agenda. Our Consulate General has helped establish and deepen sister-city relationships: Lagos State with Guangdong Province and Qingdao City; Ogun State with Shandong Province; Edo State with Fuzhou City; Ondo State with Linyi City; and Kogi State with Zhuzhou City. These ties have brought real benefits to both our peoples.

Second, Our practical cooperation has gone deeper and more substantive, with landmark projects standing out. The Lekki Deep Sea Port — invested, built, and operated by Chinese companies — is a leading deep-sea hub port in West Africa. It has fundamentally improved Nigeria's port logistics, which had long been a weak link, and over its concession period it is expected to generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefits and create more than 100,000 jobs for Nigeria.

The Lekki Free Trade Zone and the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone are now home to more than 300 companies. They have created tens of thousands of jobs and given a strong boost to Nigeria's industrialization. The Lagos Blue Line Rail Project and the Lagos-Ibadan Railway have made travel much easier for the public and moved Nigeria's infrastructure modernization forward.

Third, Cultural and people-to-people exchanges have grown quietly and steadily, bringing our two peoples ever closer.

For three years in a row, our Consulate General, together with overseas Chinese communities in the consular district, has carried out the “Renewed Hope, Rebirth from the light” charity program. Together with the 40 patients to be assisted through today's event, we have helped more than 900 Nigerian cataract patients. We also launched the “Together Fight Against Hunger” charity program, which has supported more than 1,000 low-income Nigerian families. These are China's contribution to poverty reduction and the fight against hunger in Nigeria.

We have set up “Window to China” reading room at institutions such as the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), the University of Port Harcourt, and Afe Babalola University. Every year, we help renovate a China-Nigeria Friendship School, support exchanges with China by the Confucius Institute Alumni Association of Nigeria, and support a wide range of events — from the Nigerian National Wushu Championship and children's drawing contests to the Ogun State Primary and Secondary Schools Knowledge Contest and the Huaxing Art Troupe's performances on campus.

We are delighted to see students from the Confucius Institutes at the University of Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe University win one award after another in international Chinese language competitions. The Huaxing Art Troupe not only presents such traditional Chinese arts as the lion dance and the waist drum dance, but also blends in Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa dances. All of this has become an important window for cultural exchange and mutual learning between our two countries. It has also inspired and encouraged more and more young people to become the new generation of envoys carrying forward China-Nigeria friendship.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends!

This year is a key year for upgrading China-Nigeria cooperation. On March 26, China and Nigeria signed the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development. It focuses on deepening practical cooperation in Nigeria's manufacturing upgrading, agricultural transformation, trade liberalization, green development, digital trade, and other key areas. It provides a long-term, stable and predictable institutional framework for trade and investment between our two countries, and is a landmark practical step in implementing the outcomes of the FOCAC.

From May 1st, China's zero-tariff policy for the 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China came into effect. Since then, the benefits have come through quickly and delivered real results. More and more Nigerian premium products — cocoa, avocados, coffee and more — are finding their way into Chinese families. Our cooperation list keeps growing, and our win-win cooperation keeps getting more solid.

Standing at this new historic starting point of the 55th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, we cherish China-Nigeria friendship all the more, and we are confident about the future of our bilateral relations.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends!

Three and a half years have passed in the blink of an eye. They will remain among the most precious memories of my life. I have traveled to more than ten states across the consular district and made countless friends from all walks of life who are committed to advancing China-Nigeria relations. I have fallen deeply in love with this charming and vibrant country — especially Lagos, a state full of potential and hope. This is Lagos!

As I prepare to say goodbye, I want to thank our friends from all walks of life in the consular district — the Nigerian government, parliament, business community, media, think tanks, and universities — as well as the many Chinese nationals in Nigeria, Chinese institutions, and colleagues at the Confucius Institutes, for your strong support and cooperation with me and with the Consulate General. I hope we will continue to work together in earnest as a bridge and bond for exchanges between our two countries in all fields.

Let me share three proverbs to express how I feel today. As a Yoruba proverb says, “A journey may separate our feet, yet true friendship knows no distance.” An Igbo proverb says, “Though people travel to far-off lands, memories of good friends never fade.” And a Hausa proverb says, “There is no parting from the capable — they become a part of you.”

No matter where I am in the future, my heart will always be with Lagos, and I will keep doing my part for China-Nigeria and China-Africa relations.

In closing, I wish the People's Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Nigeria prosperity and strength, and their peoples peace and happiness!

May the traditional friendship between China and Nigeria be passed down from generation to generation and endure forever!

I wish all distinguished guests and friends good health and every success in all your endeavors!

Thank you!