LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – Nigeria has demanded that Taiwan relocate its trade office following a visit by China’s foreign minister and a promise of $40 billion in investment. Taiwan quickly protested, calling China’s actions “crude.”
During a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday, Nigeria publicly reiterated its support for Beijing’s “One China” policy, which considers the self-governing island part of its territory. Nigeria added that its stance does not preclude trade with Taiwan.
But Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama asked that Taiwan move its trade mission from Abuja, the capital, to the commercial hub of Lagos.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry condemned “the Chinese mainland’s unreasonable, arbitrary and crude maneuvers.”
Onyeama said Nigeria was not “pressurized” by China. He called the presence of a Taiwan trade office, despite Nigeria’s longtime diplomatic recognition of China, “an anomaly.”