China vowed to encourage its more "powerful" companies to invest in Nigeria, which in turn said it was open to Chinese companies building factories and developing its energy and mineral resources, after the two nations' leaders met in Beijing.

China welcomed Nigeria to its e-commerce and logistics sector and said it wanted to help the West African nation's economy "diversify and flourish," according to a joint statement released after President Xi Jinping and his Nigerian counterpart Bola Tinubu met on Tuesday.

They held talks ahead of a summit of 50 African nations in Beijing this week which the Chinese leader called an opportunity to consolidate China-Africa relations.