Lying in the central-southern part of West Africa, the Republic of Benin covers an area of 110,000 square km and has a population of 7.86 million belonging to more than 60 ethnic groups. Most of its religious population either believe in traditional religious or are Christians. Current President of Benin is Thomas Boni Yayi. French is the official language. The national capital city is Porto-Novo, the seat of the National Assembly, and the city of Cotonou is the seat of the government.

Sino-Benin relations have been developing steadily since the two countries restored diplomatic relations on Dec. 29, 1972. The two countries have maintained close cooperation in politics, economy, trade, culture and health as well as in international affairs. Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong visited Benin in June 2004, and President of Benin Thomas Boni Yayi visited China in August 2006. Bilateral trade increased to 1.09 billion U.S. dollars in 2005.