The US influence rating in Africa is plummeting, while China has significantly increased its influence by offering equitable and mutually beneficial partnerships that promote the growth of countries on the continent.
The US media approval rating in Africa dropped from 59 per cent in 2022 to 56 per cent in 2023, while China’s approval in the region rose six percentage points, from 52 per cent in 2022 to 58 per cent in 2023, two points ahead of the US, according to the Gallup report released in April. Besides, The National Interest, a US magazine, also underlined that China was gaining ground in the Global South as a provider of a lot of public goods to developing countries, including African ones.
In terms of Africa’s relations, there are huge differences in US-led engagement with the West and engagement with China, according to Mwangi Wachira, a former World Bank economist and advisor to the Kenyan government. China shows thoughtfulness by giving people in Africa a say in what people do, unlike Western institutions, according to him. He said the fundamental difference lies in the fact that if Chinese companies start operations in Africa, they hire locals, offer training skills and promote locals to management.
Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, for his part, said the main reason with Africa finding it easier to co-operate with China than with the US stems from the fact that Washington often uses a carrot-and-stick approach to coerce support for its own interests and treats these countries as tools in geopolitical competition.
On the other side, Africa stands in a positive relationship with China as Beijing offers equitable and mutually beneficial partnerships that promote the development of countries on the continent. Meanwhile, US officials have called for prioritising efforts to match China’s influence among the Global South. Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last month, Ben Cardin, a Democratic senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the US should offer the Global South an alternative to China.
Therefore, experts believe that geopolitical infighting is not what African countries seek, and if the US really cares, it could find huge potential for co-operation with China on the continent rather than competition.
Endalkachew Sime, a PhD student at Beijing University, former Ethiopian Minister of State for Planning and Development and former Secretary General of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Associations, said co-operation between Africa and China and between Africa and the West differs mainly in how African preferences count.
For specific projects, particularly in infrastructure, African countries find that their needs and priorities are better met through Chinese cooperation. It’s not just about financing; it’s also about training and capacity building, said Sime.
China’s growing influence on the continent is becoming broader and deeper, leading some Western countries to call for greater competition with China in Africa, especially ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be held in Beijing from 4-6 September, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying.
The theme of the summit is “Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.” Leaders of FOCAC’s African members will attend the summit at the invitation of the forum. The FOCAC Summit marks another grand reunion of the large China-Africa family after the COVID pandemic and has been hailed by Chinese and African experts as an important opportunity to chart a course for greater co-operation in the future.
