Trade accords on Xi's agenda during Senegal swing

22 July 2018: China's President Xi Jinping was to ink a raft of trade accords Saturday on the first visit by a Chinese leader to Senegal in almost a decade, Senegalese presidential sources said.

Senegalese President Macky Sall welcomed his counterpart to Dakar for afternoon talks and a slew of agreements were later due for signing, the sources said without elaborating.

One known project, however, was to involve the formal handover by Xi to Sall of the keys to a Chinese-built wrestling venue, the sport being hugely popular in the west African nation.

China is already Senegal's second-biggest trading partner behind France, with bilateral trade surpassing $2 billion in 2016, according to official data.

The country's main exports to China are nuts as well as the metals, zirconium and titanium.

Chinese imports are steadily gaining ground meanwhile, rising from 227 billion CFA francs (some 350 million euros/$410 million) in 2013 to 367 billion last year, construction materials leading the way as Chinese companies increasingly work on state projects.

Chinese firms have built a major slice of recent Senegalese infrastructure including sports stadia in Dakar, roads, a theatre, a national wrestling arena and a museum of black civilisation.

Since diplomatic relations were restored in 2005 Chinese investments in Senegal have surpassed 1.8 billion euros.

Xi's visit to Senegal, which ends Sunday, is the first leg of an African tour which will take him on to Rwanda and South Africa.