Hu's one-week trip takes him to Saudi Arabia, China's biggest source of oil imports, but the four countries that he will then visit in Africa -- Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius -- are not endowed with vast resources.

"The top Chinese leadership has spent a lot of time visiting oil-rich countries in the past," said Barry Sautman, a China expert at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"But it also has a deliberate policy of trying to send its leaders everywhere (in Africa), because the political influence of all African countries is important to support China in international forums."

China has in recent years worked hard to cultivate closer partnerships with Africa -- a move that has caused concern in the West as Chinese influence on the continent has grown.

Much of the world's attention has focused on China's drive to secure natural resources from African states -- including those spurned by the West such as Sudan -- to meet its huge energy demands.

But assistant Chinese foreign minister Zhai Jun insisted that Hu's visit to Africa -- his fourth since he came to power in 2003 -- and China's interest in the continent, was not dominated by oil or natural resources.

"We have a very good and profound traditional friendship with African countries and our cooperation is not limited to energy or resources cooperation," he told reporters on Friday.

Zhai said Hu would announce fresh assistance to African states during his trip, and pledged that Beijing would meet its target of doubling aid to the continent in the three years to 2009.

China has never publicised exactly how much assistance this entails.

Some in the West have criticised China's "no-strings-attached" attitude towards aid, accusing the Asian giant of plundering Africa's resources with no regard for political, environmental or social consequences.

Adama Gaye, an associate researcher at John Hopkins University in the United States and author of a book on Sino-African relations, said China's approach could backfire if it didn't address some of these concerns.

"It must avoid appearing to be allied with the continent's retrograde forces, as (Africa's) civil society is looking for more transparency in its relations and the end of purely government-centered relations," he said.

Zhai defended China's role in Africa.

"Cooperation is based on mutual benefit, it serves the interests of both China and people in Africa who have benefited greatly from the cooperation," he said.

China's trade with Africa increased to 106.8 billion dollars last year from just under 40 billion dollars in 2005, according to the Chinese commerce ministry.

The World Bank has also spoken out in support of China, saying its increased presence in Africa had led to a massive infrastructure revolution there that was vital to reducing poverty.

Sautman said Hu's visit was also aimed at quelling rumours that China was going to retreat from Africa due to the global economic crisis.

"Some people actually say this provides an opportunity for China to further displace Western influence on Africa," he said.

The trip was also a "nudge and wink" to the four remaining African states -- Burkina Faso, Gambia, Swaziland and Sao Tome and Principe -- that recognised China's rival Taiwan, where the Nationalists fled after losing a civil war in 1949, Gaye said.

For Saudi Arabia, trade between the two has also increased substantially over the past few years, totalling 36 billion dollars for the first 10 months of 2008, compared with 16 billion dollars in 2005, official figures show.

Zhai said Friday that some energy documents with the Saudi Arabia could be signed if "negotiations went well."

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