The Chinese offer follows President Hu Jintao’s second leg of a four-nation African tour to strengthen relationship with Africa. His tour is seen as an effort to reassure Africa that Beijing will not ease up on aid and investment during hard economic times and that its interests on the continent extend beyond oil and mining, Reuters reported.

Funds for the communications system were secured through the Export-Import Bank of China, the West African country state news agency reported. Hu's delegation also signed a deal under which China will buy 10,000 tonnes of Senegalese groundnut oil, although Le Soleil gave no timeframe for the purchases. Groundnuts are one of the West African country's main crops.

China's interests in Africa have multiplied in recent years, with trade rising 10-fold since 2000 to nearly $107 billion last year, and Beijing has been at pains to reassure African nations it will not desert them during the economic slowdown.

"China will keep its promise made at the Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in November 2006 and will not reduce its aid to Africa as a result of China's efforts to address the global financial crisis," Hu said in Dakar in comments published by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.