US plans to push back China and Russia in Africa
The United States wants to catch up in Africa, where the influence of Russia and China is strong. Biden's strategy is based on debt relief and funding opportunities: metals for the green transition are at stake
After Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Vice President Kamala Harris will also soon travel to Africa: this week she will visit Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. His trip is part of a broader effort – including an economic one: a $55 billion aid package was announced in December 2022 – by the Joe Biden administration to increase American influence on the African continent, where Washington has remained behind its rivals.
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN AFRICA
The United States would like to convince African countries to side against Russia in international fora for the invasion of Ukraine, but it is a choice of camp that several governments on the continent would prefer not to make, given the good trade relations – especially for supplies of arms – with Moscow.
In reality, more than Russia, America is concerned about China, its political rival which is clearly Africa's first trading partner, with trade that in 2023 should exceed 260 billion.
The Washington-Beijing competition in Africa has to do with minerals critical to the energy transition , such as cobalt, of which the continent has vast reserves. But also aid for debt reduction, given that the increase in interest rates will complicate the efforts of poor nations to repay China, which in recent years has lent large sums for the construction of infrastructures.
THE AMERICAN APPROACH
Officially – as Cameron Hudson, an analyst at the CSIS research center told Bloomberg – the United States will not say it is in competition with Russia or China for influence over Africa, although it is clear that it is.
Indeed, to promote its image in the eyes of African governments, Washington is trying to highlight its differences in approach and conditions compared to Beijing and Moscow. For example, the United States has promised 165 million to promote free elections on the continent, countering the destabilization caused by the mercenaries of the Russian company Wagner : they are present in Libya, Mali, Sudan, the Central African Republic and Mozambique.
However, it will not be easy to loosen the strong ties with Russia of countries such as Egypt and Morocco (on trade), or South Africa (on military matters).
Harris' travel destinations indicate that debt relief is an important theme in US diplomacy for Africa: both Zambia and Ghana have defaulted in recent years and are seeking to restructure their debts. That of Zambia, in particular, amounts to more than 17 billion and over a third is attributable to Chinese lenders.
AFRICA DOES NOT WANT TO SIDE
Interviewed by Bloomberg , Jito Kayumba – he is the special assistant for finance and investments of the Zambian presidency – expressed well the position shared by most African governments: he said that "our relationship not the United States does not influence our relationship with China, and vice versa. We want to maintain all relationships. It is a legacy that we have been maintaining since the days of independence”.
In essence, Africa does not want to take sides but to remain neutral, so as not to preclude any opportunities.
WHAT THE UNITED STATES OFFERS
The United States wants to offer the continent 55 billion over three years, including 21 billion in loans to middle-low income nations through the International Monetary Fund. Also, last December, during the US-Africa Summit (the first since 2014), the Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said she wants to see more private sector investment in Africa.
RAW MATERIALS FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION
In the eyes of the United States, Africa is also important for deposits of minerals for the energy transition, such as lithium and cobalt for electric vehicle batteries. According to American officials, the Wagner group could perform a function of hoarding raw materials for Moscow: it is precisely in Africa, however, that the company intends to reposition itself, now that it has announced the reduction of its presence in Ukraine.
Congo is a huge global producer of cobalt, followed in Africa by Zambia, which is also the sixth largest global producer of copper, another metal necessary for the ecological transition. China owns most of the cobalt mines in the Congo, and is looking for more copper supplies.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/influenza-africa-stati-uniti-cina-russia/ on Wed, 29 Mar 2023 10:04:16 +0000.