The London-based Al Majalla, owned by the Saudi Research and Media Group, published on 28 February 2023 a commentary titled "US-China Competition in Africa Heats Up with Beijing in the Lead" by Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy.
The author concludes that the US maintains an historical advantage in North Africa, but China is rapidly catching up. On the other hand, China has become the dominant player in Sub-Sahara Africa with the US playing catch up.
The Washington Post published on 1 March 2023 a feature titled "Jill Biden Went to Africa, and All Anyone Wants to Talk About Is 2024" by Jada Yuan.
Jill Biden seems to have had a successful visit to Kenya and Namibia in spite of the fact that many wanted to focus on President Biden's political future. Hers is a precursor to visits to Africa later this year by Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden.
World Politics Review published on 8 February 2023 a commentary titled "To Compete with China the U.S. Must Take Africans Seriously" by Chris Olaoluwa Ogunmodede.
The author argues that "African leaders remain wary of grand pledges and empty rhetoric unmatched by concrete follow-through, as well as the arrogant paternalism that typically characterizes Washington's engagement with these countries." But the author adds that China is no less prone than the United States to making mistakes in its interaction with Africans. Nevertheless, Beijing's core arguments resonate better by default.
Japan's model of cooperation with Africans may be the best one to emulate. Washington could start by being a better listener with its African interlocutors.
George Kidane of The Eritrean Studies Forum interviewed me on 9 January 2023 in a podcast titled "Outcomes for Peace in Ethiopia, and American Relations with African Countries."
The 46 minute interview focused on the conflict in Tigray Region of Ethiopia, the role of Eritrea in the conflict, the impact of the US-Africa Leaders Summit, and US-China competition in Africa.
The Diplomat published on 27 December 2022 an analysis titled "Countering China in Africa by Reaffirming US Tech Leadership" by Sam Howell, Center for New American Security.
The author argues that to effectively mitigate the influence of Huawei and other Chinese tech giants in Africa, the United States must position itself as a willing and reliable partner and support the Biden administration's Digital Transformation with Africa.
The Washington Post published on 2 January 2023 an editorial titled "The U.S. Should Think of Africa as a Partner, Not a Pawn."
The editorial suggests that the United States should treat African countries as full equals and focus on providing the infrastructure of democracy. It starts with a commitment to prosperity, durable democratic institutions, and a mutual respect that acknowledges both sides have much to gain.
The Diplomat published on 16 December 2022 a commentary titled "China-US Competition Seems to Be Working For Africa" by Chensi Li and Sena Voncujovi, both with Development Reimagined.
The authors argue that US-China competition is providing tangible results for African countries although they will have to work hard to ensure that the commitments become a reality.
China Radio International (CRI) posted on 16 December a 40-minute podcast titled "How Much Change Will the 2nd U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Bring to America's African Policy?" Liu Kun hosted the program. Panelists were Abdullahi Boru Halakhe, African policy analyst, He Wenping, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and me. The segment begins 15 minutes in to a longer program on World Today. I was able to access it on Google Podcasts. CRI is controlled by the government of China.
This was a wide-ranging and generally balanced discussion of US policy in Africa and the outcome of the US-Africa Leaders Summit. It also considered China's role on the continent and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Singapore-based Channel News Asia interviewed me on 12 December 2022 concerning the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.
The six-minute interview focused on US competition in Africa with countries such as China and Russia, especially on the issue of trade.
Izvestia published on 15 December 2022 an article titled (based on Google translation) "Africa Is Beautiful: Why the United States Rushed to Strengthen Ties with the Continent" by Natalia Portyakova.
Based on an imperfect Google translation of Russian, this seems to be a reasonable account of US relations with Africa and the current US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.
The White House posted on 13 December 2022 a statement titled "Strengthening the U.S.-Africa Partnership in Space."
During the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, Nigeria and Rwanda became the first African countries to sign the Artemis Accords, a set of principles to guide the next phase in space exploration. Several US companies are also making space-related investments in Nigeria, Rwanda, and Kenya.
Aljazeera hosted a 25-minute panel discussion titled "What Does the US Hope to Achieve with African Leaders' Summit?" The panelists were Onyekachi Wambu, columnist at the London-based New African magazine, Einar Tangen, Taihe Institute in Beijing, and me. Laura Kyle moderated the program.
Most of the program centered on the approach to Africa by the United States and China. Onyekachi Wambu was moderately critical of US policy and supportive of China. Einar Tangen generally took the position that the United States could do nothing right in Africa and China could do no wrong. This left me defending U.S. policy.
The Associated Press published on 13 December 2022 an article titled "China Casts Long Shadow Over US-Africa Leaders Summit" by Aamer Madhani and Lolita C. Baldor.
While the Biden administration is trying hard to remove China as an issue at the current US-Africa Leaders Summit, the media keep returning to China's impact in Africa.
Foreign Policy published on 12 December 2022 an article titled "Biden Plays Nice with Equatorial Guinea to Spoil China's Atlantic Ambitions" by Robbie Gramer, Amy Mackinnon, and Jack Detsch.
Several senior US officials have visited Equatorial Guinea in an effort to convince President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo not to give China permission to establish a military base there. The Biden administration also invited President Obiang to attend the US-Africa Leaders Summit. The downside of this decision is that it sends a negative signal to human rights and democracy activists in Africa.
Channel News Asia (CNA) published on 12 December 2022 an article titled "US President Biden to Meet African Leaders, in Contest with China for Continent's Attention" by Kate Fisher and Fabian Koh.
Although the US-Africa Leaders Summit is going out of the way to emphasize the US relationship with Africa and ignore China's role on the continent, most reporting, including this article, is using the event to draw comparisons with China's engagement in Africa.
Politico published on 12 December 2022 an article titled "If It's Just Symbolic, 'It's Going to Be a Disaster'--Biden's Africa Summit Challenge" by Phelim Kine.
The article takes a hard look at the upcoming US-Africa Leaders Summit and makes some comparisons with what China has done in Africa.
The Voice of America Encounter program posted on 9 December 2022 a 25-minute interview with Joseph Sany, US Institute of Peace, and me titled "US-Africa Leaders Summit Preview" moderated by Carol Castiel.
The program focused on what might come out of the summit, the different approaches to Africa by the United States, China, and Russia, and the current situation in Ethiopia.
The South China Morning Post published on 10 December 2022 an article titled "At First US-Africa Summit in Years, China and Its Inroads on the Continent Expected to Cast Long Shadow" by Bochen Han and Jevans Nyabiage.
The article compares the role of the United States in Africa with that of China, suggesting that Washington has a lot of ground to make up.
The US Institute of Peace published on 7 December 2022 an analysis titled "10 Things to Know About the U.S.-China Rivalry in Africa" by Thomas P. Sheehy.
The author sets out 10 things he says we should know about China's role in Africa, how it impacts US interests, and what Africans want from US policy.
Foreign Policy published on 2 December 2022 an article titled "Biden's Big Africa Summit Carefully Sidesteps China" by Robbie Gramer.
The US-Africa Leaders Summit scheduled in Washington on 13-15 December does not include any agenda item dealing with China. The agenda refers to Russia only in the context of how its invasion of Ukraine disrupted global food supplies.
