Containing China’s influence in Africa isn’t only a Western preoccupation. Two key non-Western partners to the continent are increasingly framing their engagement in similar terms. Japan and Turkey are both reframing their Africa engagement to target Beijing’s power on the continent.
Japan is currently gearing up for the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) summit, taking place in Tunisia in August. This engagement continues Japan’s developmental focus while trying to shore up African support in ongoing disputes between Japan and China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute, as well as on broader issues like Ukraine and Taiwan.