China’s President Xi pledges stronger Africa ties in Senegal

Senegal’s President Macky Sall and Chinese President Xi Jinping enter the stadium during the opening ceremony of the Arene Nationale du Senegal in Dakar, Senegal July 22, 2018 - REUTERS

Reuters: China’s President Xi Jinping pledged during a visit to Senegal on Saturday to strengthen economic ties with Africa, a continent already awash with cheap Chinese loans in exchange for minerals and huge construction projects.

Xi arrived in Senegal on Saturday for a two-day visit to sign bilateral deals, the first leg of an Africa tour that will also take him to Rwanda and South Africa, the latter for a summit of BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The visit was Xi’s first trip to West Africa as President, but his fourth to Africa, he told a joint press conference with Senegalese President Macky Sall after their third-ever meeting.

Africa is in the midst of a boom in infrastructure projects, managed and cheaply financed by China, part of Xi’s “Belt and Road” initiative to build a transport network connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

China has pledged $ 126 billion for the plan, which has been praised by its supporters as a source of vital financing for the developing world. In Senegal, Chinese loans have financed a highway linking the capital Dakar to Touba, its second main city, and part of an industrial park on the Dakar peninsula.