“It criticises us for taking Israel to the International Court of Justice, where we argued that the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza violate international law and the Geneva Convention. In its ruling on provisional measures, the ICJ found ‘plausible’ evidence that Israel was conducting a genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. It would be devastating to our mutual economic interests if the bill were to collapse bilateral relations.”

She warned that “seeking to bring South Africa to its knees almost amounts to self-sabotage for the US”.

Being the biggest economy on the continent and one of its most influential international players, treating South Africa as a hostile country will indeed sabotage Washington’s attempt, dismal though it has been, to re-establish ties with the continent to counter expanding Chinese influence.

In recent years, a new breed of African leaders, democratically elected and highly educated, has pushed back at Western pressure and interference, but especially its claims about “the China threat”.

The White House’s propaganda drive in Africa, which at one point was a job for Vice-President Kamala Harris, has been a complete flop.

While Pandor’s rebuttal was not about China per se, her confident and measured outrage is now fairly common among Africans demanding accountability against the West’s self-righteous claims on the continent. Their justified resentment will just draw them closer to Beijing.

In the Sahara Desert, Chinese labourers work to build a 575km rail line. Why?

China and Africa are natural partners, unlike the former Western imperial powers whose legacies of suffering, destruction and racism still harm the continent today. Let those leaders speak out. Here is a small sample of their recent outbursts.

Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia: “We’re here to foster the US-Zambia relationship but there’s a context in the sense that that relationship exists in the operating environment where other countries also exist. The contextualisation [is] that if the US and Zambia share a lot in common, a strong bilateral relationship, historical relationship then they are doing things against China that’s actually wrong, completely wrong.

“So I have said before when I’m in Washington, I’m not against Beijing. Equally when I’m in Beijing I’m not against Washington. We have a globe we share, we have a planet. We share Earth for us; in Africa we have our continent … What we expect of America and China as two leading economies – No 1 USA, No 2 China – is to help us keep our world safe for everybody.”

Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana: “There may be an obsession in America about Chinese activity on the continent, but there is no such obsession here. China is one of the many countries with whom Ghana is engaged in the world.”

Yemi Osinbajo, former vice-president of Nigeria: “African countries as you can imagine are in my view rightly unapologetic about their close ties with China. China showed up when the West was not [willing] or is reluctant to show up.

“And then you have countries, of course, of the view that the warnings about the Chinese Trojan loans may be wise but are probably self-serving. Africa needs the loans and the infrastructure, and the Chinese offer them. In any case the history of loans from Western institutions is not great. The memory of the destructive conditionalities of the Bretton Woods loans are still fresh and the debris is everywhere; and the preoccupation of Western governments and the media with the so-called China debt trap might well be an overreaction.”

Nicolas Kazadi, Finance Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, commenting on his government’s review of foreign loans, including China’s: You should present it the right way. It is not about challenging Chinese investment, it is about challenging investment that is not fair. It is not only with Chinese, we have some issues with others also. But the Chinese are the most important players currently in the country and we are trying to fix two or three major issues that we have with their companies, which are very important to the country. As I always say we should not see it as a political issue, it’s an economic issue we are discussing with the Chinese. I’m sure that we will get to an agreement with them.”

Hage Geingob, late former president of Namibia: “What is your problem with [China]? Why does it become a problem? It looks like it’s a more European problem than our problem. You are so sorry for us?

“Chinese will never come and play around here [the way] Germans are doing, by the way. You talk about Chinese. We allow Germans to come without visas here, red carpet; our people are harassed there in Germany, even diplomatic passport holders in Germany … Chinese don’t treat us like that.

“We will handle our own country. Don’t be sorry for us. Absolutely yeah, every time a Westerner comes it’s about Chinese; what is the problem? Is Namibia not for the Chinese? [Have] the Chinese taken over Namibia? Not on my watch. I told the Chinese ambassador here, I’m not your puppet. It was in the press everywhere and so please respect us, that’s all I will say.

“It shows disrespect that we are children who are going to be cajoled by Chinese or something. Chinese are coming with infrastructure, they are all over Africa and I saw in America they [the Chinese] are there who bailed Americans out [of the] financial crisis, Chinese money is there …

“We are open to everybody … friends to all, enemies to none.”

I have many more such quotes that I can cite endlessly but which the mainstream Western media tend to ignore or downplay, for obvious reasons.

It’s pretty clear that “China in Africa” and the debt trap narrative are Western propaganda, a precursor to the current “China threat” narrative to justify the new cold war being waged by the West, led by the United States. It’s not in Africa’s interests. It is against Africa.