The limits of mutual benefit: A neo-mercantilist perspective on China’s economic relations with Nigeria

ABSTRACT What is the best term to describe China’s global geo-economic strategy? This article posits that neo-mercantilism accurately describes China’s global geo-economic strategy. Neo-mercantilism, which has a long history in Chinese thought, is a strategy of state-building that combines liberal and protectionist means to enhance the relative position of the state and its political elite. In contrast to mercantilism, this strategy is not exclusively zero-sum in that it also facilitates the selective developmental needs of targeted states. However, the actual relative gains made by a neo-mercantilist power are larger than those of the target state. Nigeria is a regional economic powerhouse with large natural-resource rents and extensive development needs, making it a prime destination for Chinese neo-mercantilist engagement. While Chinese engagement serves some of the immediate developmental needs of Nigeria, the bottom line is that China gains considerably more from its engagement with Nigeria than vice versa.