The United States is in a new pivot towards Africa. The Biden administration has spruced up the US Strategy towards Africa, placing emphasis on the tremendous positive opportunities that exist in the continent.
Anchored on four main objectives—namely openness, democracy promotion, economic prosperity and climate adaption—Washington is doubling down on its visibility in Africa, home to one of the largest free trade areas and a plethora of natural resources.
A key outcome of this renewed interest was the recent state visit by President William Ruto to the US. During the visit, the second one by an African leader in as many decades, President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet for the Kenyan leader and staged a fancy state dinner on the lush lawns of the White House. President Ruto, a new vision career for the pan-African agenda, had a raft of issues he hoped to get consensus on with his host.
All was going well for President Ruto in America until CNN journalist Richard Quest dropped the veil behind Washington’s increasing appetite for Africa. Quest wanted to know who, between China and USA, President Ruto would choose.
President Ruto diplomatically dribbled past the question, maintaining that Nairobi was facing neither East nor West. He said Kenya was solidly ‘facing forward’, but the incident revealed how the fear of Beijing’s successful partnership with African countries was driving policy makers in Washington insane.
Non-Nato ally
A closer look at the deals signed between Kenya and the US then all points to a desire by Washington to reduce China’s influence in the region. Kenya was designated as a major non Nato ally, in continuity of enduring pursuit of US national security interest in Africa. A new promise was issued on the construction of the Nairobi-Mombasa expressway, first announced in 2013, when China and Kenya began the journey to construct the SGR between the two cities.
To countervail the flow of young Kenyans to Chinese universities, Biden announced scholarships for Kenyans, reminiscent of the famous 1960s African student ‘airlifts’ to America, during the J. F. Kennedy presidency. Even the wording of the so-called Nairobi-Washington Vision on public debt management was, in many ways, pointed at Beijing. In essence, China was the watermark in every document.
Yet, as President Ruto remarked to CNN, Kenya and the rest of Africa are only interested in international partnerships that can help the continent to overcome its development challenges. There is enough space for everyone who has an interest in joining Africa’s quest for economic viability, political stability, peace and global competitiveness as outlined in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 blueprint.
For the most part, China has become very close to Africa because of its foreign policy posture that is responsive to Africa’s development needs. From trade to technology transfer, infrastructure construction and even peacebuilding, Beijing has lived up to the desires of Africa. Effective mechanisms such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) have facilitated dialogue between Chinese and African leaders, leading to important consensus on development cooperation between the two sides.
The US and China are the foremost economies. Leveraging their comparative advantages, rather than fear, can help to propel Africa to realise sustainable development goals. African countries shouldn’t be pushed to a binary choice of either Beijing or Washington, because there is no alternative universe.
Dr Cavince, PhD, is an international relations specialist with a focus on China-Africa Development Cooperation. @Cavinceworld
Source link : https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/-how-china-fear-is-driving-us-pivot-towards-africa-4655850
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Publish date : 2024-06-12 17:00:00
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