 USA or China? Who does Africa want? The U.S.-Africa leader's summit is taking place in Washington, D.C. with nearly 50 African heads of state present. There will be discussion on a wide range of topics, including global health, education, and food security. The United States' rivalry with China and how it affects Africa will be in the background of this significant diplomatic event, rightfully not on the formal agenda given that the summit is about the United States and African countries, but it will undoubtedly be discussed and analyzed in private conversations leading up to the summit. It is accurate to say that sub-Saharan Africa's governments, institutions, and people will play a critical role in solving global challenges in the Biden administration's August release of the U.S.-Africa strategy. The strategy sternly assesses that China sees Africa as an important arena to challenge the rules-based international order, advance its own limited geopolitical interests, undermine transparency and openness, and weaken U.S. relations with African peoples and governments when discussing other countries' growing engagement with Africa. I believe that is correct. In order to effectively advance U.S. interests, Africa's strategy must be founded on a sober appraisal of Chinese engagement on the continent and a respect for the African point of view. In today's video, we are going to be looking at one of the major issues occupying the minds of many people in the world, a question of who Africa would prefer between China and USA is what we are going to be focused on. Stay connected as we make this startling discovery. Since the year 2000, China has hosted the forum on China-Africa cooperation, which is largely regarded as a crucial tool for furthering Chinese diplomatic and commercial objectives. Summits on Africa are also held in other countries such as Russia, Turkey and Japan. This is only the second summit on Africa that the U.S. has hosted. The first was in 2014. There is reason to believe that this summit will have an impact, despite the fact that they sometimes get criticism for failing to yield tangible outcomes. The deal rooms of its business forum, for instance, may announce business deals involving American and African firms, some of which are supported by American government organizations. Since nearly every invited leader is likely to participate, the summit is a significant indication of the priority the United States places on its connections with Africa. African leaders have responded favorably to the invitation. Beijing's assistance of liberation organizations battling colonial rule marked the beginning of China's involvement in Africa. China's commercial engagement increased starting in the late 1990s and was institutionalized in 2013 with the Belt and Road Initiative, a well-funded initiative to increase political influence and trade ties throughout the developing globe. Lending for infrastructure development designed and built by Chinese corporations as well as resource extraction by Chinese mining and energy companies are important operations. China has increased its footprint in almost all of Africa, with some priority countries being Ethiopia, Angola, and Zambia. Chinese influence in Africa has grown dramatically since the end of the Cold War, whilst U.S. influence has stagnated. China is Africa's greatest two-way economic partner, outpacing U.S. Africa trade by a ratio of four and reaching $254 billion in 2021. The main source of foreign direct investment, which sustains hundreds of thousands of employment in Africa, is China. This is about two times as much as American foreign direct investment. Despite a recent decline in financing to African nations, China continues to be by far the continent's greatest lender. Being the second largest economy in the world, China's commercial activity in Africa was only to be expected to rise along with it. This is especially true given China's need for raw materials to support its enormous manufacturing base. However, this expansion also reflects a determined attempt on the part of the Chinese government to make considerable strides in Africa. Concern over China's military activity in Africa has been highlighted by U.S. authorities. China finished building its first military outpost in Djibouti in 2017. On the Atlantic Ocean coast of Africa, notably in Equatorial Guinea, where Chinese corporations have built and upgraded port facilities, there have been rumors that China wants to establish naval bases. Equatorial Guinea owes money to China, which has the Pentagon concerned that Beijing may use its financial clout to purchase a port. The Biden administration increased its interaction with Equatorial Guinea as a result of this. However, compared to the hundreds of Chinese financed and built infrastructure projects throughout Africa, which have little to no impact on national security, potential Chinese military ports on the Atlantic Ocean are significantly different. The United States should concentrate its diplomatic efforts on addressing Chinese actions that are actually critical, such as those concerning telecommunications and strategic minerals. China will continue to be a bait participant in Africa. Therefore, the U.S. statement that all Chinese economic involvement in Africa is alarming distorts the problem and is counterproductive. Additionally, it fails to impress Africans who fervently want to see more commerce and investment. China has mostly stood on the sidelines when it comes to diplomatic dispute settlement in Africa, despite its expanding business footprint. Although Beijing did name a special envoy for the Horn of Africa earlier this year and hosted a peace conference there, given its significant economic and political ties to Ethiopia, one might have expected China to be more involved in diplomatic efforts to end the catastrophic civil conflict there. Washington should be ready in case China departs from its traditional non-interference policy and takes on a more prominent diplomatic role in African conflicts, even though the African Union has taken the diplomatic initiative and the United States has played both a public and behind-the-scenes role in Ethiopia. African leaders are cautious of great power competition because they remember the Cold War when the U.S. and the Soviet Union conducted proxy wars in Africa. China is seen as a successful development model by certain Africans. Chinese diplomacy actively promotes this positive image throughout Africa. When pressing African states to vote at the UN to denounce Russia's blatant invasion of Ukraine, the United States did so because doing so served its interests. But generally speaking, U.S. diplomacy in Africa will be more successful when it is not presented as a us or them choice, especially when facing off against China. Early in the Biden presidency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed allies that Washington would not anticipate them to pick between Beijing and Washington. But if the two big nations ties deteriorate, pressure on this strategy will grow. The poorest and fastest growing continent is Africa. Increased commerce and investment are essential. Otherwise, social and political tensions will rise due to increased unemployment, resulting in violent instability. Unfortunately, with only 3% of global trade, Africa continues to be a little player in the global economy. African leaders in business and government understand the value of the American market, the sectoral leadership of many American firms, and the high standards of American corporations, particularly when compared to the lack of transparency and environmental records of many Chinese firms. It's encouraging that the African diplomatic community in Washington wrote to the Biden administration requests that the summit prioritize business. For a variety of reasons, including a perception of high risk, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of official assistance, American corporations have been sluggish to enter the African market. Some companies are looking at the summit as a venue to start their involvement in Africa, given the increased number of U.S. government resources now accessible, including the just-launched Development Finance Corporation. Africans and Americans share a desire to see more open business practices across the continent. Abuse, fraud, and waste take place away from public view. Africans are advocating for more openness in their government's commercial ties in a number of different countries. The largest infrastructure project in their nation's history, the now-completed Mombazanero B Railway, was financed with a $5 billion loan from the Export Import Bank of China. This was successfully pushed for by parliamentarians and civil society in Kenya. This disclosure nullified a secrecy clause, the application of which is increasingly customary for Chinese lending in Africa, raising serious concerns about responsibility. It is impossible for Africans to assess whether infrastructure projects are positively influencing their development without a general awareness of project funding terms. African markets with greater transparency will be better for American enterprises. A three-day summit with almost 50 nations takes a lot of time to plan. There are opportunity costs, since other urgent concerns and opportunities in Africa have unavoidably received less attention. Stronger diplomatic engagement is needed in order to maximize the Biden administration's summit investment in addition to ongoing follow-up that builds on any advancements made in Washington. When it comes to visiting and welcoming African leaders, top officials from China and other nations surpass American authorities. Since President Reagan, President Trump is the only American leader to have skipped an African trip. Although his top diplomat, Secretary Blinken, has traveled to Africa three times in the past year, Biden has yet to travel there as president. It makes sense that African leaders see personal visits as a sign of respect for them and their nations. Apart from its rivalry with China, the United States has numerous interests in Africa that call for this increased diplomatic attention. In conclusion, we will like to note that both the USA and China play a vital role in elevating Africa to a maximum level of development with their many contributions. China has engaged herself so much in Africa, especially when it comes to infrastructural development, but still lacking a lot especially in assisting during conflicts and wars. The USA on the other hand, though lacking as well as preferred more by Africa because of the intervention to conflicts and wars. Africans are hoping to make an impact from the summit in order to strengthen the relationship they already have with the USA. 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