Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu arrived in Senegal Friday to oversee projects China is carrying out in the country and sign an important power loan agreement, a government source said.
The source told AFP that Hui, a vice premier in charge of agriculture, "arrived on Friday around midday. This evening he will meet the president" Abdoulaye Wade.
Hui's visit to Senegal comes at the end of a five-country African tour beginning on January 7 which also took him to Mauritius, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.
In Dakar he will see how work is advancing on the national Grand Theatre, an imposing building constructed by the public Chinese company Complant, near the capital's station.
Beijing is financing the building, in the final phases of construction, through "non-repayable grants", Senegal's ambassador to China Pape Khalilou Fall said in an interview published in pro-government newspaper Le Soleil.
He will also discuss the rehabilitation of 11 regional stadiums funded by China and the manufacture of Chinese minibuses in a factory opened in Thies, west of Dakar at the end of 2009.
Senegal's Energy Minister Karim Wade will also sign an agreement with the president of China's import and export bank for "significant funding for the proposed extension of power lines to new quarters in Dakar suburbs," said Fall.
Beijing and Dakar restored diplomatic ties in 2005 after nearly ten years during which Senegal recognised Taiwan.
Since then China has provided significant financial assistance to the former French colony of 12 million inhabitants.
For their part the Senegalese authorities regularly promote China and give it their diplomatic support. In May 2010 Senegal announced its backing of "one sole China" in support of Beijing's refusal to recognise Taiwanese sovereignty.
Hui is in Senegal until Sunday.
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