Former Liberian Minister of Public Works and now a Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, W. Gyude Moore, wrote a compelling 10-part Twitter thread on why African countries are strenuously avoiding taking sides in the rapidly escalating dispute between the United States and China.

Moore’s thread can help U.S. and European stakeholders better understand why African governments do not see China in the same menacing light as they do. Instead, he writes, China’s focus on infrastructure and so-called “bread and butter issues” is much more aligned with African development objectives.