China has warned the United States against the use of human rights as a pretext for interference in other countries’ internal affairs.
Spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, at a press briefing on Tuesday, said the Chinese government supports the President Bola Tinubu administration as it “leads its people on the development path suited to its national conditions”.
Ning said “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.”
Ning was answering a question on US President Donald Trump’s threat of military action in Nigeria over alleged persecution of Christians.
This is coming on the heels of a sharp diplomatic standoff triggered by Trump’s decision on Friday to designate Nigeria a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for alleged persecution of Christians.
Trump’s move was met with immediate rejection by Nigeria’s presidency and by President Tinubu, who insisted that “religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so.”
The Nigeria government contended that the U.S. characterisation “does not reflect our national reality.”
