Tuesday, January 13, 2026

China's Long Game in Africa

 Kenya's The Star published on 13 January 2026 an article titled "(Understanding China) Wang Yi's Africa Visit and China's Long Game in a Fractured World" by Stephen Ndegwa.  

The author argues that Africa is not just China's partner for growth but a "co-architect of a new global narrative."  Increasingly, the relationship is rooted in "strategic coherence, institutional cooperation and global multilateral engagement."

Comment:  This highly favorable analysis of the China-Africa relationship conveniently ignores Africa's large and continuing trade deficit with China and the mercantilist policy whereby China sells mostly value-added goods to Africa while importing almost entirely raw materials from Africa.