The US Needs an Africa Strategy that Does Not Treat China as Zero Sum Competition

War on the Rocks published on 2 April 2020 a commentary titled "Does America Need an Africa Strategy?" by Sam Wilkins, an active duty US Army Special Forces officer.

The author concluded that the United States needs a continental strategy because it has real interests in Africa and increasingly limited means with which to advance and protect them. Chinese activities have sharpened the need for a continent-wide policy, but American interests in Africa go well beyond zero-sum conceptions of competition with Beijing. American policy in Africa risks becoming reactive to Beijing's moves on a country-by-country or issue-by-issue basis. Chinese activity should not be the organizing principle of American policy in Africa. Rather, a more nuanced Africa-wide strategy would harness American advantages and prepare for what will become a decades-long competition in Africa with a determined and authoritarian state. America's approach to China in Africa should emphasize U.S. strengths--transparency, high quality goods and services, and democratic governance--and trust the appeal of those fundamental values as a compelling alternative to the Chinese model.