Nigeria's situation is getting worse as the largest oil producer in Africa struggles to pull itself out of its most severe recession in 12 years.

Nigeria's currency, the naira, collapsed again despite its central bank raising the country's benchmark interest rate from 12 percent to 14 percent, a 10-year high, on Tuesday. The oil-dependent government said the rate hike will help support the economy by encouraging savings and investment, but naira's freefall shows international investors weren't convinced by an optimistic voice.

Regrettably, the economic depression in Nigeria is just a microcosm of the bleak economic picture that emerging economies face. Many African nations, with resource-based export economies, have encountered increasingly strong headwinds as global commodity prices go down.

As investors adopt a prudent strategy, many are interested in what steps the Chinese government will take following the failed attempts by some African nations at reviving their economies. Many wonder whether China will offer assistance and what role the country will play in promoting Africa's economic development.

China seems willing to help Nigeria address its problems. As some Western merchants gave up on their African dream, a standard gauge railway built in collaboration with China opened in Nigeria on Tuesday.

Additionally, an official from the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday that China will gradually increase aid to Africa.

Nigeria's current economic depression exposes certain problems, such as an unreasonable economic structure, that many other African countries also face.

For China, it is worth considering how to maximize the effectiveness of its investment as the country pledges its increase in economic aid.

Several African countries, particularly Nigeria, need to modernize and diversify its productive structure, and China has advantages in infrastructure construction and manufacturing industry. In this regard, China should make its investment and economic aid more targeted and effectively promote industrialization and modernization in the region.

However, China should not put its focus entirely on economic cooperation in production capacity and infrastructure construction.

China's aid to Africa needs to look for diverse ways to offer more help in fields such as educational facilities, official training, academic exchange and technological guidance.

Sino-African relationships have grown quickly in the past few years. Now China would hope its efforts are constructive and helpful for sustainable economic growth in the region, not just a way to increase its presence on the continent.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn