Situated in the western part of the African continent, the Republic of Senegal covers an area of 197,000 square km and has a population of 10,850,000 belonging to 20 ethnic groups. Most of the country's residents believe in Islam. French is the official language. Dakar is the national capital. The current president is Abdoulaye Wade.

Since the restoration of diplomatic relations between China and Senegal on Oct. 25 2005, bilateral relations have been developing smoothly and the bilateral exchange of personnel has been frequent. The two countries have achieved a great success in cooperation in economic, trade and educational areas, as well as in international affairs. Mali's President Wade visited China in 2006. Wang Zhongyu, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visit Senegal in the same year. Bilateral trade reached 141 million U.S. dollars in 2005.