China News Network, 17 Dec (Reporter Meng Xiangjun) After eight years, the United States has finally set its sights on the African continent again. From the 13th to the 15th local time, Washington, the capital of the United States, the US-Africa Leaders Summit attended by heads of state and heads of the African Union (AU) from 49 African countries came to an end.
The summit schedule is full and the topics seem diverse. However, since 2014, the second US-Africa summit has finally been held, can it really bring the two sides closer? How much more trust do African countries have in the United States? Shouting "America is back" to Africa, what kind of big chess is the United States playing next?
Infographic: US President Joe Biden.
Influence lagged behind, and the United States finally remembered Africa
The three-day agenda of this US-Africa leaders' summit is full. From economic engagement, peace and security promotion, to food security, expanding diaspora relations, to tackling the climate crisis, the United States seems to have a lot of "heart-to-heart" to talk to African countries. For the United States, another direction is indispensable, that is, to promote values such as democracy and good governance.
But some countries were excluded from the U.S. list. For example, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Sudan, which have been temporarily suspended by the African Union, and Eritrea, which has no diplomatic relations with the United States.
Although this summit has generally created a "good opportunity" for the Biden administration to re-engage with the African continent, it is intriguing that the United States seems to have no intention of seizing such a "good opportunity" over the years.
The United States finally remembered the "forgotten" Africa - foreign media commented that in fact, plus this time, the US-Africa summit was held twice. The first was held during Obama's term of office in 2014, and after Trump entered the White House, he did not pay attention to the development of relations with Africa, and even once called African countries "shitholes", which made US-Africa relations take a sharp turn. For eight years, there has been no movement at the U.S.-Africa summit.
The official website of the White House announced the schedule of the US-Africa summit, and the first day was full. Image source: White House official website
Now, how does the Biden administration intend to restart relations with Africa?
The United States finally remembered the real reason for Africa, and the American media believed that the United States lagged behind in the process of competing for influence in Africa, and now wants to "catch up." The United States is very jealous of China and Russia "strengthening their influence in Africa."
U.S. Deputy Commerce Secretary Graves acknowledged that Chinese direct investment in Africa surpasses that of the United States, that the United States is "already lagging behind" and that "investors and companies must catch up."
While throwing money, Biden made another slip of the tongue
On the whole, the United States' approach to African countries is inseparable from the "old routine", throwing money and wooing.
First of all, the scale of the money is limited, the conditions are harsh, and there is an additional embarrassing moment.
The day before the summit, that is, on the 12th local time, Sullivan, the US president's national security adviser, on behalf of the US government, promised to provide $55 billion in aid to Africa in the next three years, including economic, health, security support and other fields.
The U.S. puts "all kinds of resources on the table," Sullivan argues, comparing the U.S. with other countries and showing that "we're doing really well."
To see whether the performance is good or not, you can first look at the African Growth and Opportunity Act of the United States. The bill allows some eligible African countries to export most of their products to the United States with zero tariffs, but all this is conditional on African countries meeting what the United States considers "human rights and democratic standards."
The bill expires in 2025, and African exports to the United States continue to decline under the bill. Just two years before its expiration, the bill was finally turned over and discussed in the United States. Recently, Molly Fey, assistant secretary of state for African affairs at the U.S. State Department, told the truth: "Unfortunately, the bill has not been fully utilized over the years."
The reason is that the United States itself knows best. After all, over the years, several African countries have been removed from the list of beneficiaries of the bill.
During his speech at the U.S.-Africa summit, Biden made a slip of the tongue and said that the amount of investment in supporting Africa's digital transformation was $350 billion from $350 billion.
Biden made a slip of the tongue at the US-Africa Economic and Trade Forum, describing the non-digital economy aid fund as $350 billion. Image source: Screenshot of the report of the Russian Satellite News Agency
The White House later corrected the transcript of Biden's speech. But the actual investment in the United States has shrunk a thousand times from the scale of "throwing money" as the president said, and this embarrassing moment has spread around the world with US media reports...
It looks beautiful, but it's not simple
In terms of wooing, the Biden administration seems to have made a big move. Even before the US-Africa summit, rumors came out that the United States would express its support for adding an African country to the permanent membership of the UN Security Council and inviting more countries of the African Union to join the G20.
In the introduction of White House adviser DeVermont, the United States was very "thoughtful". "In the international dialogue on the global economy, democracy and governance, climate change, health and security, we need to hear more from Africa," he said. ”
As an important international organization to discuss world economic development and financial system reform, the G20 is mainly composed of developed economies and emerging market economies. The AU has 55 countries, but South Africa is the only G20 member. Increasing the proportion of developing countries in the United Nations is also the demand of African countries.
Data map: Next to the streets of Bali, Indonesia, there are posters for the 2022 G20 summit. Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Zhihua
However, does the United States really have no selfish intention to give Africa two "big gifts"?
In fact, after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, in the process of building an international "anti-Russian front", the United States found that even under pressure, some key African countries were still reluctant to stand up and condemn Russia or join the military-backed military operations supported by the United States. The Biden administration is "surprised and dissatisfied" by this.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with President Sall of Senegal, the rotating chairman of the African Union and Senegalese President Sall, and the two sides reached a consensus on the establishment of a settlement and transportation system independent of the United States and the West. Russia and Africa also plan to hold the second Russia-Africa summit in 2023 to make the United States taste.
After the establishment of the Biden administration, it increased diplomatic actions against Africa, held the US-Africa Business Summit, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also visited Africa and announced the US Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to enhancing post-pandemic economic recovery and supporting environmental, climate and energy transitions, the four main objectives of the strategy include fostering open societies and delivering democratic and security dividends.
In August 2022, the White House released its Sub-Saharan National Security Strategy. Image source: White House official website
African countries know very well what the open society and democratic dividend mean by the United States.
Observers also pointed out that even on the occasion of the three-day large-scale meeting, the United States has not arranged any face-to-face bilateral meetings between the US president and African leaders, indicating that the United States is actually engaged in "superficial efforts."
"U.S. strategy can't keep pace with changes in Africa"
Carlos López, a visiting professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town and former executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, pointed out that many of the commitments at the US-Africa summit were "predetermined in Washington, not through consultation."
He believes that the summit is unlikely to bring about "structural change" and is more like "a geopolitical exercise, a pose photo." ”
Reuters pointed out that the United States is the world's largest donor of foreign aid, but only one-third of the donor funds go to Africa. In terms of trade, the United States has only signed a free trade agreement with Morocco, an African country. In order to promote local manufacturing, the implementation of the US Inflation Reduction Act will hurt battery material producers in Africa.
The South African Institute for Global Dialogue, a South African think tank, highlighted through a report that the attractiveness and influence of the United States for Africa is significantly declining, which may be the reason for Washington's efforts to strengthen its engagement with the continent. African countries have reason to worry that the United States could disrupt African politics.
Foreign Policy magazine analyzed that the US Africa strategy has not kept pace with the changes on the continent. The United States should "let go of clichés" and reformulate its geopolitical understanding of Africa to demonstrate that it values Africa because of its intrinsic values and potential, not its role in great power competition. (End)
Source: China News Network