BEIJING, China
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.Foreign Minister Wang Yi
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.”
Mao Ning, Chinese foreign
ministry spokesperson, announced the visit at a news conference on Friday,
saying it aimed to deepen practical cooperation across the board for sustained
and substantive growth of China-Africa relations.
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.
“China has become central to
Africa’s policy, as an actor and an inspiration,” said Hannah Ryder, founder of
Development Reimagined, an African-owned consultancy, referring to how
candidates vying to chair the African Union Commission have talked up Beijing’s
ability to improve Africa’s manufacturing capabilities and China’s track record
in mass education ahead of February’s election. The commission is the
secretariat of the 55-nation African Union.
Wang’s decision to visit the
Republic of Congo, which this year takes over as co-chair of the Forum on
China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC) that sets the agenda for China-Africa
relations, also points to China’s commitment to implementing the outcomes of
last year’s summit, Ryder said, where China pledged $51 billion in fresh
financial assistance.
Beijing is also beginning to
make its presence felt on pressing regional security issues, analysts say,
which partly explains why Wang will travel to Chad.
France last month began the
withdrawal of its military from the Central African country, after its
government unexpectedly ended a defence cooperation pact that had made it a key
Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region.
“China has been a reliable and
stable partner for the new military juntas in the Sahel and West Africa,”
Orland said.
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