After U.S President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria over the alleged persecution of Christians by Islamic insurgents, China has stepped in to oppose Trump’s actions—deepening the contest between Washington and Beijing for the allegiance of Africa’s most populous country.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Nov. 4, “As Nigeria’s comprehensive strategic partner, China firmly opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and threatening other countries with sanctions and force.”
After U.S President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria over the alleged persecution of Christians by Islamic insurgents, China has stepped in to oppose Trump’s actions—deepening the contest between Washington and Beijing for the allegiance of Africa’s most populous country.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Nov. 4, “As Nigeria’s comprehensive strategic partner, China firmly opposes any country using religion and human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, and threatening other countries with sanctions and force.”
In a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) the same week, Yu Dunhai, the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, wrote that “China is willing to continue supporting Nigeria in combating terrorism and maintaining domestic stability.”
Washington and Beijing have been at loggerheads since Trump returned to power in January. Despite a recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump, tensions continue—and Nigerians fear that they’re just a piece on the chessboard.
“China sees in the ongoing dispute an opportunity to brandish its bona fides of supposed noninterference and paint the U.S as a bully that wants to meddle in countries’ internal affairs with Beijing claiming that it, by contrast, respects African sovereignty and wants to do business,” said James Barnett, a nonresident fellow at Washington-based Hudson Institute who studies the conflict inside Nigeria.
Barnett noted that it’s not just Abuja that sees Beijing as a better option, but also many other African governments. From their perspective, he said, the “Chinese position on Nigeria looks preferable at the moment, as it is much more accommodating of Abuja’s preferences and the status quo.”
In some ways, that’s a dynamic that predates Trump; Washington has always been more willing to call out human rights abuses than Beijing. But Trump goes far beyond traditional U.S. positions and, as Barnett said, “has been exceptional in both the sweeping and contentious generalizations he is making about Nigeria and in his talk about possible military force.”
While boots on the ground are unlikely, Barnett said, even drone strikes or operations by U.S. special forces are not “risk-free scenarios.”
Emeka Umejei, a senior research associate at the University of Johannesburg, said that U.S and Chinese interests in Nigeria both run deep—and that neither foreign power has the country’s best interests at heart.
“It’s just a geopolitical rivalry and contest for the soul of Africa,” Umejei said. “China is fighting to secure its economic interests, and that may be why it is taking this position. When you compare development aid and assistance, you will see that China collects more from Nigeria than the U.S gives.”
China is Nigeria’s biggest trading partner, according to data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics. The trade volume between the two countries stands at $21.9 billioncomprising about 8 percent of China’s total trade with Africa, and China has exploration and mining deals in the country for gold, copper, and lithium, as well as an extensive role in the lumber trade.
Nigerian commentators have noted Beijing’s interest in their resources—and worry that the United States wants a bigger piece of the pie.
“A lot of Nigerians suspect that insecurity is driven or exacerbated by foreign interests seeking Nigeria’s resources, which is partially a legacy of the controversial role of international oil companies in the Niger Delta conflict going back several decades,” Barnett said. “There is growing frustration among Nigerians with Chinese miners, who operate in a poorly regulated environment and are seen as exploiting local labor and colluding with corrupt politicians and armed groups, thereby exacerbating insecurity.”
But Trump’s criticism of the government also sparked agreement from some Nigerians. The country is facing growing attacks from multiple militant groups that range from Boko Haram terrorists to criminal gangs known locally as “bandits” as well as armed Fulani herders, a predominantly Muslim nomadic group.
In a country broadly split between a more predominantly Christian south and a largely Muslim north, Christians have often been targeted, with one report documenting 3,100 Christians killed and 2,830 kidnapped in 2025 alone—though Muslim militants have also attacked fellow Muslims. In September, U.S Sen. Ted Cruz presented a bill in response—the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act, which would target officials deemed responsible for the killing of Christians with serious sanctions.
In October, the U.S. State Department designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” (CPC). The first time that Nigeria received this designation was in 2020, during the first term of Trump’s presidency. The CPC designation is used for countries that the United States deems have engaged in or tolerated “particularly severe violations of religious freedom”—putting Nigeria in the company of China, North Korea, and Russia.
Christians aren’t the victims of random violence, but systematic attacks by jihadi groups, said Emmanuel Ojeifo, a Nigerian Catholic priest studying for a Ph.D. in political theology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Ojeifo is also an Atlantic Council researcher on religion and democracy.
“There are few countries in the world, if any at all, where Christians are being killed as much as they are in Nigeria,” he said. “If the situation in Nigeria is getting more attention today, then it is justified.”
Ojeifo said that Trump wants the “Nigerian government to wake up to its constitutional responsibility of protecting and guaranteeing religious freedom for its citizens.”
Amid the ongoing U.S-China tensions, Umejei, the University of Johannesburg researcher, said that Nigeria has to take care of its own interests. “Until we do this, we will continue to be a pawn on the chessboard of global powers. If you don’t sanitize your house, strangers will come and take care of it for you,” he said.
