A landlocked country in the western part of the African continent, the Republic of Mali covers an area of 1,240,000 square km and has a population of 13,520,000 belonging to 23 ethnic groups. Eighty percent of the local residents believe in Islam. French is the official language. Bamako is the national capital. The current president of Mali is Amadou Toumany Toure.

Since China and Mali established diplomatic relations on Oct. 25, 1960, bilateral relations have been growing smoothly and the two countries have been cooperating effectively in economic, trade, cultural, educational and health areas. Mali's president Amadou Toumany Toure visited China in 2004. Gu Xiulian, vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, visited Mali in the same year. Bilateral trade totaled 145 million U.S. dollars in 2005.