[3] They rented properties at above-market rates in the Centenaire area, and remained in the country even after Senegalese president Abdou Diouf's administration granted official recognition to the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan in 1996.
The ROC's diplomatic success was not matched by the development of economic relations; instead, the traders from the PRC, actually on the ground in Senegal, were able to cultivate political and popular support.
[5][6] The ROC responded by accusing the PRC of "buying" Senegal's allegiance by pledging US$600 million in foreign aid.
[10] However, the low prices they offer benefit both consumers as well as small itinerant vendors who go door-to-door in poor neighbourhoods reselling goods they purchase from the Chinese.
Chinese wholesalers also attract merchants from nearby West African countries, especially Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mali, who find it cheaper to come to Senegal to purchase Chinese goods for resale in their home countries, rather than go through the expensive and time-consuming process of obtaining a PRC visa and flying to China themselves.
[12] Chinese shop-owners often teach their African employees Mandarin and learn Wolof and French from them in return, a form of language exchange.