Gunmen shot at security guards and kidnapped two Chinese workers from a gold-mining site in southwest Nigeria. (File photo: AFP)

China urged the Nigerian police to help free two Chinese nationals who were kidnapped in southwestern Nigeria on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Thursday, noting that the Chinese embassy in Nigeria has launched an emergency plan in response to the kidnapping.

There are many Chinese-funded enterprises and projects in Nigeria, and China will not evacuate Chinese nationals in Nigeria due to occasional emergencies, Zhao added.