Washington, who convened the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit after 8 years after the first one, prompted reactions when it warned African leaders against China and Russia.
Chinese experts said U.S. officials “seem to have forgotten how many African countries have been bombed by the U.S. and other Western countries, and how many times the U.S. has created chaos in the continent to plunder natural resources.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing yesterday that Washington should respect the will of the African people and take concrete steps to help Africa’s development, rather than vilifying and attacking other countries.
25 percent of Obama-era pledges fulfilled
An article published on the Global Times, questioned the sincerity of U.S. commitments to help Africa and urged Washington to take action instead of making promises. It was reminded that similar aid projects were tailored for Africa (The Power Africa Initiative) during the Obama era, but only 25 percent of these commitments were fulfilled.
The article emphasizes that the African strategy has reached an ‘impasse’ due to the actions of the U.S., and Washington has set itself the goal of blocking China’s development on the African continent.
The article notes that Washington did not like the African continent in the past and considered it as a problem that needs to be solved, and now it deals with it as a pawn in the competition for great power, mentioning that this situation is clearly seen not only by African countries but also by the international community.
‘China has nothing to worry about’
China became Africa’s largest trading partner with four times the U.S.-Africa trade volume, reaching $254 billion in 2021. The article emphasizes that African countries see this difference.
In this context, Chinese analysts say that China does not need to worry about Washington’s calls because China has a “solid and mature friendship” with the continent.
‘Destabilization’ warning
At the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden, 49 African leaders gathered in Washington to attend the three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.
The first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit was held in 2014 under Barack Obama administration. Inviting African leaders to Washington after 8 years, the U.S. warned that China and Russia would destabilize Africa.
With this summit, the U.S. aims to win back its influence in Africa, where reactions towards the West have increased, European countries have started to withdraw their troops, and China, Russia and Turkey have improved their relations.
Africa, which is home to one of the largest regional voting blocs in the United Nations and is increasing its emphasis on sovereignty day by day, is one of the focal points of great powers.
“The summit is really rooted in the recognition that Africa is a key geopolitical player and one that is shaping our present and will shape our future,” a senior White House official said at a briefing last week.
Addressing African leaders and the African Union at the summit, Biden said: “The United States is all in on Africa’s future.”
U.S. strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa
The U.S. released the U.S. Strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa in August. While emphasizing that Sub-Saharan Africa was one of the largest regional voting groups in the United Nations, a new framework was drawn for Africa’s importance to the U.S. national security interests in line with the new strategy.
Stressing ‘equal partnership’ in explaining the new strategy, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, the fact that African countries are a major geopolitical force is the basis for the new U.S. strategy for Africa.
Blinken, on the other hand, criticized China for saddling African countries with heavy debts, while accusing Russia of meddling in the internal affairs of continental countries through the Wagner group.
It seems that the Biden administration’s acts to balance Russia and China powers continue in Africa.
African leaders refuse to make a choice
African leaders, on the other hand, are aware of the Washington approach, which considers them as “pawns in the great power race.”
Many African leaders reject the idea that they should choose between the United States and China.
“The fact that both countries have different levels of relations with African countries makes them equally important for Africa’s development,” Ethiopia’s U.N. ambassador, Taye Atske Selassie Amde, told Reuters about the discussions at the summit. “However, it should be known each African country has the agency to determine their respective relationship and best interest.”
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