Quartz Africa published on 14 April 2022 a commentary titled "Why Is the US Fixated on China's Rise in Africa" by Kang-Chun Cheng.
This is one of many recent accounts that argues the United States is obsessed with China's growing influence in Africa. It then draws on selective data such as Chinese loans, which rarely have a Chinese investment component, for financing infrastructure projects to demonstrate that China is far more engaged in Africa than is the case for the United States.
Comment: While there is an element of truth to this analysis, it overlooks the fact that US foreign aid to Africa, nearly all of which is grant assistance, is far higher than that coming from China. The US is also more engaged in the African security sector with the exception of personnel contributions to UN peacekeeping operations in Africa. Public opinion polling shows that China and the US are equally well perceived on the continent. US soft power influence comes mainly from the private sector and continues to out pace China in areas such as music, sports, TV, and movies. The US and China have similar amounts of foreign direct investment stock in Africa. The US does need to up its game in Africa, but this is not a situation where the sky is falling.
