EKWE JONAL

The existence of expansive piece of land housing Chinese shops and trade hubs in Lagos, Abuja and Kano has shown that raw military or economic power is not the only measure of a country’s strength or the only means of a country exe power in the comity of nations. These shops and trade hubs and other ancillary additions like schools, films, are all intangibles and constitute what we call soft power. It is this soft power that is at the heart of people-to-people strategy of the Chinese nation in its African dealings and pursuits. The effect is that goods are imported from China and trade hubs established and those are sold directly to Nigerians at reduced prices thereby ensuring favourable opinion of the Chinese by ordinary Nigerians. The impact of this on the generality of our people is overwhelming. The research, therefore, aims to find out how China market shops – a group of Chinese retails outlets across Nigeria- function as instruments of China’s soft diplomacy. Writers have written about infrastructure projects but this is about informal sector and the impact on the economy as Chinese entrepreneurs’ interface with the local communities. The research draws on soft power theory, and employs a qualitative case study with emphasis on secondary data. 

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