From October 26 to 29, 2018, Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong visited Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria. He paid courtesy calls on President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo of Negiria respectively, and met on separate occasions with Minister for Foreign Affairs Marcel Amon-Tanoh of Côte d'Ivoire, Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Abba Ibrahim of Nigeria. They exchanged in-depth views on bilateral relations, the implementation of outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and international and regional issues of common concern.

Chen Xiaodong expressed that in recent years, China-Côte d'Ivoire relations and China-Nigeria relations have enjoyed rapid development and cooperation in various fields between China and Côte d'Ivoire as well as between China and Nigeria has achieved remarkable achievements. The FOCAC Beijing Summit was successfully held this September. President Alassane Ouattara and President Muhammadu Buhari led delegations to attend the summit in person, reaching important consensus on the development of bilateral relations and China-Africa relations with President Xi Jinping. The Chinese side is willing to, together with the Côte d'Ivoire side and the Nigerian side, well implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit, and deepen cooperation in various fields, so as to join hands to build an even closer community with a shared future for China and Africa.

The Côte d'Ivoire side thanked the Chinese side for providing valuable support and assistance for economic and social development of Côte d'Ivoire. The FOCAC Beijing Summit achieved fruitful results, becoming a banner for international cooperation with Africa. The Côte d'Ivoire side stands ready to work with the Chinese side to jointly well implement outcomes of President Alassane Ouattara's visit to China and the FOCAC Beijing Summit and enhance bilateral all-round communication and cooperation, so as to promote greater development of relations between the two countries and better benefit the two peoples.

The Nigerian side noted that the Nigerian side regards the Chinese side as one of the most important cooperative partners. The FOCAC Beijing Summit is a practical and efficient mechanism for international cooperation with Africa, and the eight major initiatives highly accord with the development needs of Nigeria and Africa. The Nigerian side is ready to, together with the Chinese side, well implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit, and deepen bilateral communication and cooperation in various fields, in a bid to promote Nigeria-China strategic partnership to continuously reach new stages.