During his state visit to the People's Republic of China, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe agreed closer cooperation with President Xi Jinping.

According to Xi, China wants to strengthen ‘mutual political trust’ and expand cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, agriculture and water conservation. The meeting took place as part of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing. The FOCAC meeting is intended to draw up a new plan for Sino-African cooperation and, according to Xi, represent ‘a milestone in the history of Sino-African relations’.

According to Gnassingbe, cooperation with China has significantly promoted Togo's national development and the country wants to strengthen this cooperation.

China has been trying to gain a foothold in Africa for years and has been involved in infrastructure projects such as road and railway construction and port facilities in many countries. However, the benefits for African countries are questionable, as the financial dependency on China has increased massively and the effects, for example for local labour, are very limited. The Chinese companies generally bring their own labour force with them, creating an ever greater dependency on China, which is endeavouring to establish bases everywhere and expand its own power base as part of its global strategy.