Partnership between China and African countries will benefit Africa's economic development, a South African official said as the US Secretary of State made what appeared to be veiled attacks on China while visiting the continent.

Hillary Clinton arrived in Senegal on Wednesday, on the first stop of an 11-day tour of Africa. It is the highest-level visit to the continent by a US official since June, when Washington issued a strategy for Africa that calls for greater access to investment between the United States and African countries.

Clinton told a university audience that the US was committed to "a model of sustainable partnership that adds value, rather than extracts it" from Africa.