The Republic of Niger, a landlocked country in Western Africa, covers an area of 1.27 million square km and has a population of 11.4 million belonging to five main ethnic groups. Most of the local residents believe in Islam and primitive religions. The current President of Niger is Mamadou Tandja. French is the official language. Niamey is the capital city.

Sino-Nier relations have been growing smoothly since China and Niger restored diplomatic relations on August 19, 1996. Nigerian President Mamadou Tandja and Prime Minister Hama Amadou visited China in 2001 and 2004 respectively. Bilateral trade reached 34 million U.S. dollars in 2005.