The award was bestowed on the media organisation by the Chinese Consulate General, Lagos, and presented by the Consul General, Ms. Yan Yuqing.

At an elaborate ceremony at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, the chief consular diplomat, Ms. Yan described ACE Magazine as a body that has given great support to the China-Nigeria diplomacy and friendship using the media.

Emewu (fourth from left), CG Yan and other awardees at the event

The event which featured many senior political officers including the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Hamzat Obafemi, the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, and representatives of the Enugu and Kogi state governors hosted journalists, researchers, technocrats, and diplomatic chiefs of many countries.

At the presentation of the award, Consul General Yan described ACE Magazine as “a bridge of communication between Africa and China.”

ACE Magazine was founded in 2017 “to promote the strong and positive relationship between Nigeria/Africa and China through the media.

ACE Magazine has been published in Nigeria, China, and other African countries with a large following in these areas.

She noted also that the Editor-in-Chief, Ikenna Emewu vowed that ACE Magazine is poised to do more in this mndate in the days and years ahead.

In response to the honour of ACE Magazine, the Director General of the Institute of African Studies of Zhejiang Normal University (IASZNU), China, Prof. Liu Hongwu congratulated Emewu and the ACE Magazine. The Nigerian journalist, Emewu is also a Director of Research (Nigeria) of IASZNU.

From left: CG Yan, Ogun State Deputy Governor, Lagos Deputy Governor, and Chairman of House Representatives Committee on Nigeria-China Cooperation unveiling a book at the event titled Understanding Friendship & Cooperation

In his message written to Emewu, Prof. Liu, an alumnus of the University of Lagos said “My fellow UniLag alumnus, my dear brother, Mr. Emewu, good morning from China. Congratulations on winning this significant China-Nigeria Friendship Contribution Award this year.

The magazine Africa China Economy and the website africachinapresscentre.org that you created are amazing platforms to tell the true stories of China-Africa Cooperation and China-Nigeria Friendship. It helps Africa and the world know more and better what we are doing.

Thank you for your efforts and contributions to promoting China-Africa Friendship. Thank you for supporting our Institute in many ways, whether it’s China Africa Think Tank Forum or other China-Africa people-to-people exchanges, it means a lot to us.

We are looking forward to continuing collaborating more with you in the near future to enhance Africa-China academic and media exchanges.”

Regards, ‘Lagos boy’- Liu Hongwu, Alumnus of UniLag

The event was to mark the 75 years anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and 53 years of China-Nigeria diplomatic relations.