Blinken’s tour of Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal came as US President
Joe Biden sought to rally support on the continent to help counter a surge of authoritarianism, inviting three African nations to his
democracy summit last week. Blinken tried to play down the China factor, saying engagement “in Africa, with Africa, is not about China”. His predecessor Mike Pompeo wanted Africans to choose the US over China.
There was no mention of “debt-trap diplomacy” – a criticism frequently levelled at China – but the more cautious approach will do little to reassure Beijing after the first 11 months of the
Joe Biden administration. It is no coincidence that Yang was sent to Sierra Leone and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) right before Biden’s virtual democracy summit. Neither were among the 110 nations invited to the gathering.
Yang, who is President
Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy aide, had a clear message when he met the leaders of the two nations – China wants to shore up support in Africa and undercut US influence. He didn’t name the US, but used Beijing’s usual language to take a swipe at Washington – flagging the risk of unilateralism and saying “protectionism and hegemonism” stood in the way of world peace and development.
After the trip Yang told state news agency Xinhua that Africa was a cornerstone of China’s foreign policy and the long-standing support of African nations on key issues like Taiwan and human rights was appreciated.
The timing of Blinken’s trip to Senegal should also be noted – he visited the West African nation just days before it hosted the Forum on China-African Cooperation late last month, when
Xi made new pledges to the continent in a video address.
“Our purpose is not to make our partners choose, it is to give them choices,” Blinken said in Dakar. “And when people have choices, they usually make the right one.”
Africa has become another area of rivalry between the two powers in recent years, though many China watchers believe it is one where they could cooperate. China has been Africa’s top trading partner for the past 12 years and has long been accused of debt-trap diplomacy via its
Belt and Road Initiative. China’s loan commitments to the continent totalled US$153 billion from 2000 to 2019, according to the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University. The country has built nearly 100 ports, about 1,000 bridges, 10,000km of railway lines and 100,000km of roads in Africa since 2000, according to a white paper released by Beijing last month.
But most Africans appear unfazed by growing US-China competition or the prospect of a new Cold War, at least for now, according to a recent Afrobarometer survey of 48,000 people in 34 African countries.
It found the US remained more popular than China in 23 countries when it came to the preferred development model, but more than 60 per cent of respondents held positive views of both Chinese and American economic and political influence.
However, 57 per cent of those surveyed were concerned about excessive borrowing from China and perceptions of China’s economic influence declined in 24 countries compared with a survey six years ago, with the biggest drop of 37 per cent in Sierra Leone.
