China's Xi arrives in Africa with focus on trade ties

By George Obulutsa and Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - African dancers and a 21-gun salute welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping in Dar es Salaam on Sunday at the start of an African tour that underlines the continent's strategic importance for China both for its resources and as a marketplace. Visiting, Tanzania, South Africa and Republic of Congo on his first trip abroad as president, Xi will aim to build on expanding economic relations that many Africans see as a healthy counterbalance to the influence of the West. ...