industrial park in the state, namely: Jiuxing Intergrity Industries Limited and Inner Galaxy Steel Company Ltd, were visited by the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria,
His Excellency, Ambassador Zhou Pingjian, who led a delegation of high profile embassy executives and Chinese businesses. Key figures with him included the Secretary General (the Consul General?) Huang; four representatives of Chinese construction giant, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, popularly known as CCECC.
Ambassador Zhou was received on location by the General Manager of Inner Galaxy, Mr. Xu Jinhua and the General Manager of Jiu Xing Integrity Industries Ltd, Li Shuang. He and his entourage were led through the steel structure workshop of Jiuxing Integrity Industries Limited, where he was shown an array of the products of the company, covering bridge structures, agricultural equipment, building construction steel types, oil and gas industry platforms, among others. The visitors were impressed by the array of products from the company. Thereafter, the august visitors were taken round the iron rod manufacturing factory of Inner Galaxy Steel Company Ltd.
The two hosts (Xu for Inner Galaxy and Li for Jiuxing) took the time to explain to the Ambassador, the vision and planning of the industrial park, as well as the progress the two companies have made in the short period of their existence in the state.
Responding, the Ambassador, who was obviously impressed with the giant strides the two companies have made, however advised them to always pay attention to the issues of safety and security of their staff, challenging them to always implement the highest standards of safety and security in their companies. He reiterated the need for Chinese enterprises to respect the local customs and cultural identities of their host communities, so as to achieve harmonious relationship which is mutually beneficial both to the companies and their host communities.
On the area of Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, the Ambassador expressed concern about the issue of Customs Clearance and other bottlenecks that business people, both Chinese and non-Chinese, face at Nigeria’s ports of entry. He expressed the willingness to offer his support and necessary assistance in improving bilateral trade relations between Nigeria and China by taking up the relevant issues with the concerned agency of government in Nigeria.
During an interactive session and symposium, the Ambassador provided some advice to Chinese businesses in Abia State in view of the economic opportunities available in the state. He praised the concept of an Industrial Park in view of the numerous Chinese businesses in the Region, as at provides opportunity for co-operation and maximization of resources.
While acknowledging the huge achievements of Chinese enterprises in the steel industry, he recommended that companies in other businesses like handicrafts, garments, shoes and hats could take advantage of the joint facilities available in the Industrial Park.
He also pointed out that Chinese companies should key into the arrangement being reached between China and Abia State. It will be recalled that the Abia State government recently struck an arrangement with the Fujian province of China to promote manufacturing in the state.
The visit of Ambassador Zhou is another landmark visit by high profile public officials to the industrial park from both the Nigerian and Chinese parts. It will be recalled that in August last Nigeria’s minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah, also visited the park, and praised the complex as an excellent initiative.
