China's ongoing efforts to challenge the dominance of the West in global governance have been on show this week with the visit of Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio to Beijing.

And according to observers, by winning support from developing countries like Sierra Leone, China is positioning itself as a voice for the Global South - offering an alternative to the largely Western leadership of international affairs.

In a meeting with Bio at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two countries should strengthen their cooperation at the United Nations Security Council so they could "jointly safeguard the interests of Africa and developing countries".

Sierra Leone is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, representing the interests of African countries, while China is a permanent member of the council with veto power. Africa has long argued that the present global governance system disproportionately favours the West.

"China has always regarded the development of solidarity and cooperation with African countries as an important cornerstone of its foreign policy," Xi was quoted as saying in a statement released after the talks.

Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Washington-based Centre for Global Development and a former ­minister in Liberia, said Africa's leverage was significantly more political than economic - voting with China at the UN and other international forums.

"President Xi gave a speech in which he communicated China's intent to be a voice for developing countries. It is thus important to have the support of those countries to lend that voice legitimacy," Moore said of China's increased efforts to court countries in the Global South, which are developing nations mostly in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.

Xi and Bio agreed that reform of the UN Security Council should support developing countries, including those in Africa, "to play a greater role, expand their representation and voice in the Security Council, and correct the historical injustice suffered by Africa".

The African Union has been pushing for reform of the international system for decades, in line with the 2005 Ezulwini Consensus and the 2005 Sirte Declaration which call for, among other things, two permanent seats on the Security Council for Africa and an expansion of non-permanent seats to five, with the members to be decided by the continent.

According to David Shinn, a professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Bio is the first African head of state to visit China this year, "probably marking the revival of increased high visits by African leaders to China in the post-Covid era".

China is also Sierra Leone's largest trading partner.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio pledged to work together to further African interests at the UN Security Council. 

Shinn said Bio supported China's "core" interests, and during the visit the leaders agreed to deepen their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

"The visit underscores Xi Jinping's goal to become the leader of the Global South. On the other hand, China made only modest new financial commitments for Sierra Leone," Shinn said.

During the talks, Xi promised that Beijing would continue to bankroll the construction of Sierra Leone's infrastructure and allow more products from the West African nation to enter the Chinese market.

He said China "will provide assistance and support within its capacity" to develop Sierra Leone's agriculture, infrastructure construction and human resources.

Beijing will further encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in the nation and start businesses there. Xi also said China would "deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in mining, fishery, vocational and technical education and related infrastructure construction".

Sierra Leone would also be invited to take part in the China International Import Expo and "actively support more Sierra Leone products to enter the Chinese market", Xi said.

Meanwhile, Bio agreed to improve the business environment and provide good conditions for Chinese companies to operate in his country.

Bio, whose five-day state visit ends on Saturday, described China as "a friend that Sierra Leone trusts and relies on".

He also said he appreciated China's strong support for his country's economic and social development.

Bio added Sierra Leone was willing to learn from China's experience, strengthen cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative, and expand infrastructure construction, trade and education.

"We look forward to leveraging strategic opportunities for the benefit of our two countries," he said, adding that relations with China had flourished, encompassing various areas, including trade, infrastructure development, education, mining and healthcare.

During his trip, Bio has also talked with Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Premier Li Qiang. He also made a speech at the Sierra Leone Investment Forum in Beijing, inviting Chinese investors into the West African nation, as he spruiked its abundant natural resources.

Moore of the Centre for Global Development said the economic slowdown in China carried serious risks for African economies.

"China is Sierra Leone's largest trade partner, so securing Chinese investment and retaining China as a market is important for the Sierra Leonean economy," Moore said. "The obverse is not true; Africa as a whole comprises a single-digit percentage of total Chinese trade."

Bio also met with Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, during his visit to Beijing. 

Chinese business interests in Sierra Leone include mining, ports and fishing.

Chinese firm Leone Rock Metal Group, for example, last year broke ground on a 12 million tonne iron ore processing plant through its local subsidiary Kingho Mining Company.

It is investing US$230 million to build a mineral beneficiation plant for the second phase of its expansion strategy at the Tonkolili mine, which has an estimated 13.7 billion tonnes of iron ore.

Leone Rock Metal Group is also upgrading the railway and port infrastructure in the coastal town of Pepel, where bulk iron ore is shipped from, at a cost of US$153 million. According to the Chinese firm, the works will improve the haulage capacity of the rail line and the operational capacity of the port to ensure it attains an annual material handling capacity of 20 million tonnes.

The firm has since signed a lease agreement with the Sierra Leonean government to operate the rail and port facilities.

China is also funding the building of a US$55 million industrial fishing harbour in Sierra Leone. But conservationists and landowners have criticised the project as "a catastrophic human and ecological disaster" that would destroy pristine rainforest, plunder fish stocks and pollute fish breeding grounds and marine ecosystems.

John Calabrese, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said Sierra Leone was minerals-rich but has a very impoverished and fragile economy.

"I know that China has invested in the extractive and agricultural sectors, and that Chinese companies have built roads and other infrastructure," Calabrese said.

There was also a sizeable Chinese community in Sierra Leone capital Freetown, he said.

"President Bio is probably in Beijing looking for an infusion of new investment and loan cancellation or at least debt rescheduling," Calabrese said. Meanwhile he said Xi would make new pledges for Sierra Leone "to generate goodwill and build political influence".

After their talks, Xi and Bio witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, agriculture, economic development, and the implementation of global development initiatives.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr - the tree-planting mayor of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has made a name for herself as a tree-planting mayor of a West African city on the brink of a climate emergency.

The 56-year-old is also the first directly elected female mayor of Freetown - and the first person to be re-elected since it became a position voted for by the residents of Sierra Leone's capital city two decades ago.

BBC Africa Eye had unique access to her and her family last year in the run-up to the elections - an insight into the highs and lows of Sierra Leonean politics and also the personal cost of living in the political limelight.

But after several decades working in finance in London, what has shocked her more than anything about her return home has been the obsession about her capabilities as a woman.

"There was no interview I had when I wasn't asked: 'So do you think you can do this job as a woman?'" says Ms Aki-Sawyerr with a smile on her face.

"And I used to say: 'Why are you asking me this?' I am first and foremost a professional… I happen to be a woman.

"You get things like: 'Oh, she's so stubborn. She's difficult.' If [those behaviours] were being displayed by a man, [they] would be encouraged and celebrated: 'Oh he's strong. He knows his mind.'"

She credits a lot of her success to her father.

"I've realised that I took a lot for granted in my upbringing. I'm one of four girls and people would say to [my dad]: 'Hey, so sorry, you know, no boys.'

"He's like: 'There's nothing my girls can't do that a boy could do.'

"So we grew up just full of confidence and never thinking of our gender as being in any way an inhibitor."

Ms Aki-Sawyerr was born in Freetown. After graduating from the city's Fourah Bay College with an economics degree in 1988, she moved to the UK.

Not long afterwards, Sierra Leone was rocked by an 11-year civil war, characterised by widespread atrocities against civilians, thousands of whom had their arms or legs hacked off with machetes.

She was one of seven Sierra Leoneans living in the UK who set up a charity to help children, especially orphans, affected by the conflict.

When the Ebola outbreak reached Sierra Leone in 2014, Ms Aki-Sawyerr decided to travel back for a three-month stint as a volunteer - for which she was appointed an OBE by the late Queen Elizabeth II. Ten years later she is still there.

"The journey to this seat, the journey to where our family's found itself, it's not been easy," she admits.

The moment that galvanised her entry into politics came in August 2017, when Sierra Leone suffered the worst natural disaster in its history.

A colossal mudslide, caused by days of torrential rain, engulfed the streets on the edge of Freetown, killing 1,141 people.

Ms Aki-Sawyerr decided to make the environment her focus after her election in 2018. Like many cities along the West African coast, Freetown is vulnerable to flooding, coastal erosion and extreme heat.

As the authorities got to grips with the coronavirus pandemic, she launched the #FreetownTheTreeTown campaign in January 2020.

Funded by tokens sold on private and carbon markets, city residents are paid to plant and monitor trees and mangroves.

The aim was to plant one million trees over two years. Although the goal has been missed, more than 600,000 seedlings have been planted.

The project was a finalist for last year's Earthshot Prize, which is backed by Prince William to support those working to provide innovative solutions for environmental issues.

It notes the target is now to reach the one million mark by this year - adding that "they have seen an excellent tree survival rate of over 80%".

Ms Aki-Sawyerr has won plenty of international plaudits for her climate work. In 2021, she was named in Time magazine's TIME100 Next list of "emerging leaders who are shaping the future" for her efforts to clean up Freetown's streets, fix its drainage systems and plant trees.

She is on several boards and commissioning groups and spoke at COP28 in Dubai, the UN's Climate Change Conference in 2023.

Success when it comes to tackling climate change is not easy to measure and critics closer to home say she has not done enough.

"She said she would clean Freetown. Freetown is still filthy. There are a lot of things she said she would do that she hasn't done," said Mohamed Gento Kamara, who ran against her in the 2023 mayoral elections for the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) - the party of the current president.

Ms Aki-Sawyerr defends herself by saying she spent "five years with my hands tied behind my back" as she is in the opposition party, the All People's Congress (APC).

"In my first term as mayor, I tried to work with the government but they rejected me."

President Julius Maada Bio has also put climate on his agenda. He spoke at COP26 in Glasgow, as well as last year's Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi. He also launched the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security a month after his re-election.

The inter-party rivalry also has darker undertones as shown in the BBC documentary, when Ms Aki-Sawyerr, her daughter and campaign team were filmed huddled on the ground in the APC headquarters on the day of the election while shots and tear gas were fired at the building. A woman died in the violence.

Challenged on whether she is now focusing more on politics rather than people, she replied: "I reject that.

"But… you have to have wisdom. You have to be able to work within a context that's different and dynamic whilst holding on to your life."

Although she won office again in Freetown last June, she was not sworn in until October as the APC, alleging fraud in the national polls, was refusing to engage in any official activities. The impasse was only overcome with the help of regional negotiators and the African Union.

The climate is still on Ms Aki-Sawyerr's agenda for her final term in office. But one thing she admits she "totally underestimated" was "the extent to which having a female mayor has been an inspiration to so many women and girls".

"It wasn't really in my calculations, it wasn't even in my thought process when I was running for this role, but it's been such a significant part of who I've been and what impact I've had it's really moved me."

Sierra Leone is seeing more women in politics than ever before, many say because of President Maada Bio's 2022 Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Act, which sets a 30% quota of women in parliament, the cabinet and other institutions.

Parliament has met that target, meaning Sierra Leone now has double the number of female MPs it had previously, and way above the average for West Africa.

Quotas are helpful, says Ms Aki-Sawyerr, but they are not enough. She says she fears they "may be more about window dressing" and that "women empowerment needs to come from the heart".

Being the mayor of Freetown has made her realise many other women did not grow up with the confidence she enjoyed as a girl.

"Seeing me… sort of helps a lot of women to realise that there's nothing they can't do."