An island country in the western part of the Indian Ocean, the Republic of Mauritius covers an area of 2,040 square km and has a population of 1.2 million, who are descendants of Indians, Pakistanis, Creole, Chinese, and the Europeans. Most of the local residents believe in Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. English is the official language and French and Creole are in extensive use. The national capital is Port Louis. The parliamentary system is in place. The current president is Anerood Jugnauth, and the current prime minister is Navin Chandra Ramgoolam.

Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Mauritius on April 15, 1972, bilateral friendly relations have been growing smoothly and steadily. Li Ruihuan, then chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visited Mauritius in 2001. Berenger, the former prime minister of Mauritius, visited China in 2005. Mauritius is one of China's outbound travel destinations. Bilateral trade reached 186 million U.S. dollars in 2005.