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It May Seem Odd to a Lot of People in Africa But Taiwan is a Really Big Issue for Chinese Diplomacy on the Continent

by Eric Olander

It’s safe to say that what’s happening in Taiwan these days is not a paramount concern for most African stakeholders. But you wouldn’t know that from the emphasis that senior Chinese officials, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, put on the issue in their bilateral talks with African governments and in their public diplomacy messaging.

On Friday, Minister Wang spoke by phone with his Malawian counterpart Eisenhower Mkaka in what appeared to be a routine call. What’s interesting, though, is how much the embassy in Lilongwe focused on Taiwan and Malawi’s adherence to the One-China policy in the summary of the meeting that it posted on Twitter. In fact, it was second only to COVID-19.

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