By Charles Pemu 
BEIJING/ABUJA—China has issued a strong statement firmly supporting Nigeria’s sovereignty and condemning foreign interference, following the dramatic threat by US President Donald Trump to launch military action over alleged Christian persecution.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, warned against the use of sanctions and force in Nigeria’s internal affairs, marking a significant diplomatic intervention in the escalating crisis.
The Chinese official was responding directly to President Trump’s fiery threat on social media that the United States could “go into Nigeria guns-a-blazing” if the government failed to halt what he described as the “killing of Christians.”
Mao Ning stated that 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.”
She further affirmed China’s position by declaring that Beijing “firmly supports the Nigerian government as it leads its people on the development path suited to its national conditions.”
The Chinese statement was a direct counter to President Trump’s aggressive post, where he announced that he was instructing the US Department of War to “prepare for possible action” in Nigeria.
Trump’s post had warned that if the killings continued, the USA would “immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing’, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists.”
Nigeria Reaffirms Religious Tolerance
The Nigerian government has consistently dismissed the narrative of a Christian genocide. President Bola Tinubu had earlier responded to Trump’s remarks, asserting that the “characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality.”
President Tinubu maintained that religious freedom and tolerance remain a core tenet of Nigeria’s collective identity, adding that the country opposes and does not encourage religious persecution.
China Addresses Global Use of Force
In a related diplomatic move, the Chinese official also addressed the global application of force, particularly concerning reports that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is seeking military assistance against potential US attacks. Mao Ning reiterated China’s stance of opposing the use or threat of force in international relations and standing “against moves that undermine peace and stability in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.”