Jonathan arrives China, meets Xi Jinping today

Jonathan and his team including his wife Dame Patience Jonathan were received by China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Le Yucheng and Nigeria’s Ambassador to China Aminu Wali at the Beijing International Airport at about at about 17.30hours (China time) yesterday. He will be formally welcomed today by President Xi Jinping at a grand ceremony scheduled to […]

Jonathan and his team including his wife Dame Patience Jonathan were received by China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Le Yucheng and Nigeria’s Ambassador to China Aminu Wali at the Beijing International Airport at about at about 17.30hours (China time) yesterday. He will be formally welcomed today by President Xi Jinping at a grand ceremony scheduled to hold at the Great Hall of the People.
They will then hold bilateral talks and sign new agreements and memoranda of understanding including agreements on defence cooperation, economic and technical cooperation, finance for the Zungeru Power Plant and airport terminals and mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports. The Chinese president will later host his Nigerian counterpart and his wife to a state banquet at the end of the signing ceremonies.  
The Nigerian president is also expected to sign off on $3 billion in Chinese loans to build infrastructure. The agreed loans according to Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo Iweala will come from the Chinese government and will be based on interest rates of less than three percent over a 15-20 year period.