Trade and security on the agenda of the China-Africa summit which opened Sunday, November 28 in Dakar, Senegal.

At the opening of this Forum on Sino-African Cooperation (Focac), the Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aissata Tall Sall, said that she hoped that China would provide support in the fight against insecurity in the Sahel, where several countries are destabilized by the activities of jihadist groups.

Speaking to the press after a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Aissata Tall Sall said she hoped China would be "a strong voice" in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region.

"We would like the voice of China, given its influence, to be a strong voice to support Senegal and all countries engaged in the problem of insecurity in the Sahel," she said.

The minister stressed that the armies of the region deployed in the Sahel - of which Senegal is a part - need "much more legal means to be able to fight against terrorists and against irredentism".

Much of the Sahel, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, have for years been faced with relentless attacks by jihadist groups, despite the presence of French Barkhane and UN peacekeeping forces.

A summit against the backdrop of Sino-American rivalry

The summit comes after a tour in November by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal, amid growing rivalry between Beijing and Washington.

China is the African continent's largest trading partner, with direct trade reaching more than $ 200 billion in 2019, according to the Chinese embassy in Dakar.

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix Tshisekedi, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in particular must participate in this summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will address attendees on Monday via video link, organizers said.

With AFP

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