China’s top diplomat began his annual New Year tour of Africa on Sunday, maintaining a 35-year-long tradition, to quietly advance Beijing’s already sizeable influence across the resource-rich continent as Europe’s presence wanes and America’s wavers.
While global capitals and investors brace for the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to the White House, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and domestic politics keep German and French ministers occupied, Foreign Minister Wang Yi being in Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad and Nigeria highlights the consistency of China’s engagement with Africa, analysts say.
Wang’s visit through to Saturday also comes as the world’s No.2 economy ramps up its financial support for the debt-laden continent and looks to strike more critical minerals deals and find markets to absorb its exports.
“The decision on which countries to go to each year rarely follows any external logic,” said Eric Orlander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project. “(But) it resonates in Africa as a reminder of China’s consistent commitment to the continent, in contrast to the approaches of the U.S., United Kingdom and European Union.”
“China firmly believes that Africa has never been a forgotten continent, but rather a source of vitality and a land full of development potential,” Guo Jiakun, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told a regular news conference on Monday.
As China’s economy slows, Africa offers a much-needed avenue for its state-owned infrastructure firms struggling for projects as indebted local governments hold off on spending, and a market for its electric vehicles and solar panels, areas where the U.S. and EU say it has over-capacity.
Africa’s 50-plus votes at the United Nations could also help advance Beijing’s efforts to reshape multilateral institutions and reinterpret global norms so that they are more in line with its interests, particularly on issues such as human rights.
While current U.S. President Joe Biden’s December trip to Angola was his only visit to sub-Saharan Africa in his presidency, China puts Africa at the front of its diplomatic calendar.
Reuters
