Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov
US analysts have not hidden their deep concern about the loss of influence of Washington on the African continent. This is particularly true in the face of its main geopolitical adversaries, including China and Russia.
In a recent article published on Foreign Affairs – the authors expressed deep concern about the decline of the US position in Africa, in the face of major international powers like China and Russia.
The authors of the article are not unknown: Marcus Hicks is a retired US Air Force Major General who served as the head of the US Special Operations Command in Africa from 2017 to 2019. Kyle Atwell is a serving U.S. Army officer and doctoral candidate at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and co-host of the Irregular Warfare podcast. Dan Collini is an active duty US Army officer and associate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
All three are concerned about the weakening of the US position in Africa, saying that China and Russia are currently winning the competition.
“As former and current military officers, one of whom led the U.S. Special Operations Command in Africa from 2017 to 2019, we believe that the U.S. should position itself as the preferred partner of African countries in an era of growing great power rivalry. Failure to do so would jeopardize U.S. interests on the continent and, potentially, U.S. homeland security.”
There are indeed many reasons to consider that the US is losing “the battle for Africa”. China has been the main economic and commercial partner of the African continent for quite some time. For example, if in 1999 the volume of trade between the People’s Republic of China and African countries was only 6 billion dollars equivalent, in 2010 – the figure was over 100 billion, and close to 200 billion in 2019. And according to McKinsey – China’s financial flows to Africa are about 15% higher than the official figures, when non-traditional flows are included.
Moreover, according to this international strategy consulting firm, China is also a source of fast-growing aid, as well as the most important source of funding for construction projects in African countries. Contributions that have supported many of the most ambitious infrastructure developments in Africa in recent years.
Also on the basis of countries like Ethiopia and South Africa, Beijing sees these African states as true partners, reliably and strategically committed to China’s economic and political interests. These countries have also created a solid platform for continued Chinese engagement through their leading participation in strategies like the Belt and Road (also known as the New Silk Road) – allowing them to benefit from continued rapid growth in Chinese investment.
According to Forbes, China is unquestionably by far the biggest player in Africa’s infrastructure boom, claiming a 40% share that continues to grow. Meanwhile, the shares of Western players are falling sharply: Europe has dropped from 44% to 34%, and in the case of the United States the drop is even more obvious: from 24% to only 6.7%.
Returning to the Foreign Affairs article, which mentions that the role of Russia is also increasing considerably:
“In recent years, Russia has significantly expanded its presence in Africa, signing military agreements with at least 19 countries since 2014 and becoming the main supplier of arms to the continent.” Adding, “that just days after the US announced it would withdraw its troops from Somalia in December 2020, Russia said it had reached an agreement to establish a new naval base in Port Sudan.”
As such, the Russian Admiral Grigorovich class frigate has recently arrived in Sudan. A Russian positioning that according to experts, including Western, will give Russia many advantages, all in a strategic location.
The Russian-African partnership is obviously not limited to the military-security sphere. As a reminder, in 2019 Russia hosted in the city of Sochi, the first Russia-Africa summit in history, which brought together nearly 10,000 participants, representing virtually all countries of the African continent. The volume of trade between Russia and African countries also continues to grow: from only 760 million equivalent dollars in 1993 to over 20 billion in 2018.
As a comparison of trade flows, it should be noted that the volume of trade between the US and Africa in 2020 was less than 1/3 of what it was in 2008.
Finally, it would certainly be fair to point out that the loss of US influence on the African continent is not only due to the rise of China and Russia, or the lack of interest in Africa during the Trump administration. History obliges: the USA, like Western European countries, played a major role in the shameful slave trade. From Africa to the US, of course. And that this harmful role was not only limited to this painful period for the memory of Africans and Afro-descendants, but continued largely during the 20th century.
Should we forget the US involvement in the assassination of the great Congolese statesman Patrice Lumumba? Or the CIA’s contribution to the arrest of Nelson Mandela by the South African secret service during the apartheid period? Moreover, this was far from being Washington’s only collaboration with the racist regime in Pretoria at the time – the war in Angola after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975 is just one more proof.
Translation by Internationalist 360°
INTERNATIONALIST 360° 