The Washington Post published on 27 August 2026 an editorial titled "How the U.S. Can Beat China in Africa's AI Race."
Software developers across Africa are adapting Chinese models to build applications tailored for African users. But China has no monopoly on AI projects in Africa. In compute, the US has far more to offer than China. The US needs to revive its Power Africa initiative, which came to an end when the Trump administration dismantled USAID, in order to support African data centers.
The South China Morning Post published on 5 March 2026 an article titled "Africa Emerges as New Arena in US-China Competition over Artificial Intelligence" by Lucy Quaggin.
Africa is increasingly seen as a critical region for artificial intelligence development because of its population and economic growth. By 2050, one quarter of the world's population will be in Africa. American and Chinese companies are competing for the African market and support to set standards.
The Atlantic Council published on 20 November 2024 an analysis titled "Assessing US-China Tech Competition in the Global South" by Hanna Dohmen.
The Global South is enthusiastic about using AI applications. The US has most of the world's leading AI firms and applications. China's approach to collaborating with the Global South on AI is significantly different than that of the United States. China is promoting a centralized regulatory framework that does not align with that of the US and its allies.
The US needs to offer a compelling vision for AI that resonates with the needs of developing nations while upholding values that ensure a fair and inclusive future.
Yicai published on 5 December 2022 an article titled "Chinese Owner of African Hit Phone Brands Tecno, Itel Jumps on Google Partnership" by Xu Wei.
Transsion Holdings, the leading smartphone supplier in Africa with handset brands Tecno, Itel, and Infinix, announced it will team up with Google on the Android operating system, online advertising, and cloud services. Transsion will use Google's advertising tools to help transform its digital platform business, improve its advertising monetization, and use Google Cloud to enhance its operational capabilities.
