Nigeria hopes to strengthen its economic and trade cooperation with China with the highest-level visit yet, visiting Nigerian president Umaru Yar'Adua said in Beijing on Friday when addressing the China-Nigeria Business Forum.

"Nigeria attaches great importance to Nigeria-China economic relations, which can be reflected in the level of this visiting delegation to China," said Yar'Adua to more than 300 businessmen from the two countries," this delegation is of the highest level since Nigeria declared independence in 1960."

Major Nigerian government officials, such as the minister of finance, foreign minister, minister of energy, minister of transportation and two governors and some leading businessmen in Nigeria's banking and industrial sectors are with this delegation.

Yar'Adua said Nigerian and Chinese businessmen could cooperate in fields such as oil and gas, agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals, telecommunications, infrastructure, power generation, and the financial and capital market.

He said power generation is one of the most important departments for his government.

Trade between the two countries reached 4.4 billion US dollars in 2007, compared to 3 billion US dollars in 2006, while Chinese investment in Nigeria is estimated at 3 billion US dollars.

"I hope this forum will open up opportunities for even more productive engagement between our two peoples," added Yar'Adua.

At the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Yar'Adua arrived in Beijing on Wednesday night for a four-day state visit to China, the first since he assumed office in May 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency February 29, 2008)