Responding to United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s virtual meeting with the heads of states and foreign ministers of Kenya and Nigeria, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian warned the US against initiating “major-country competition”, saying that such an approach is “sure to meet with rejection as it will only bring harm to the interests of African countries and people.”
Following the meeting between American and African officials, US Acting Assistant Secretary of African Affairs Robert Godec told reporters that the US sees China as a “very serious competitor” in Africa and took aim at Beijing’s “corrupt and coercive practices” in the continent. He said, “In Africa, we’re going to meet the challenge that China presents by working to ensure that, for example, American companies can compete on an even playing field, provide a meaningful alternative to China’s economic approach.”
He added, “I think that what I can say is that the United States offers an alternative vision, or certainly a very different vision from the one that China presents, on economic development, on democratic governance, on human rights, on transparency, and all the rest of it.”
These comments prompted Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian to say that China and Africa are “good friend and partners sharing weal and woe” and that they have been “developing friendly and cooperative relations” for decades now. To illustrate this point, he said that trade between China and Africa has grown 20-fold over the past 20 years and that Chinese direct investment in Africa has increased 100-fold.
He went on to say, “Many African countries are now facing new challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope the US and the wider international community will pay more attention to resolve Africa’s concerns, grant greater support and input via more concrete actions to help African countries address challenges and achieve development.”
The Chinese official doubled down on his warning to the US to avoid big-power competition on Twitter. His call for the US to avoid making African countries “choose out of one of the two [superpowers] in exclusive terms” was also touched upon by state-owned news outlet Global Times.
China has expanded its reach across the African continent and is the biggest creditor to the region, having loaned upwards of $160 billion to African countries. Most of this has gone towards infrastructure projects; however, the money has been loaned at high interest rates, which forcefully increases and extends Africa’s dependence on China.
Accordingly, China has come under increasing scrutiny over the last few years for practising what critics call ‘debt-trap diplomacy’, wherein its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has arguably compromised the sovereignty of low-income countries. For instance, Djibouti’s debt-to-GDP ratio rose from 50% to 85% after Chinese investment in 2014. In fact, it is estimated that around 20% of African government debt is owed to China.
Against this backdrop, the US has sought to capitalise on rising scepticism towards China. Under the Trump administration, the US launched the 2018 BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) Act, which created the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and reignited the US Export-Import Bank.
The latest comments by Ambassador Godec suggest that the Biden administration is building on the platform created by the preceding Trump government.
China Warns US Against Initiating Great Power Competition in Africa
US Acting Assistant Secretary of African Affairs Robert Godec said this week that the US sees China as a “very serious competitor” in Africa and took aim at Beijing’s “corrupt and coercive practices”.
April 30, 2021
IMAGE SOURCE: CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRSChinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian