One stop into her week-long, three-nation African tour, and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to mention the “C” word.
But China is very much on the minds of her traveling press corps that seems to take every opportunity it can to frame the visit more in terms of confronting China on the continent than the specifics of Washington’s new engagement strategy in Africa.
Interestingly, the U.S. media narrative that Harris’ visit is part of the broader American competition with China also aligns neatly with how Chinese scholars frame the VP’s tour.
As has been the case with every high-profile U.S. visit to Africa this year, Chinese scholars expressed deep skepticism that these tours are actually focused on African countries but rather as part of a broader campaign to challenge China:
- THE U.S. DOES WANT AFRICAN COUNTRIES TO CHOOSE SIDES: “Harris chose to visit Zambia with the intent to throw (them a) “carrot” in order to point the finger at China and get (Lusaka to) choose sides between the U.S. and China… The U.S. has been sending senior officials to Africa one after another, reflecting the rising importance of Africa, not only to re-establish its presence in economic and security cooperation, but also to pull African countries to their side so as to bolster its international influence” — Song Wei, international relations professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University
- RESENTMENT OF THE U.S. IN AFRICA: “Africa seeks to unite and strengthen itself, and wants to choose its own partners without having to choose sides (between the U.S. and China). The U.S. interest in Africa is predicated on big power competition considerations which has triggered resentment in Africa” — Liu Hongwu, director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University
- NEW DIRECTION FOR U.S. POLICY: “Harris’ visit is an attempt to focus U.S. policy on African needs through greater interaction between people, especially with young people and women, so as to change African countries’ impression of the United States. This indicates that the United States is adjusting the way it engages with Africa, trying to explore a new path” — Wei Zongyou, professor at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Just as the discourse about China in Washington has become hopelessly reductionist, the same is true in Beijing, where scholars, analysts, and journalists see every U.S. action through the prism of great power competition. There’s virtually nuance in so much of the Chinese analysis of U.S. engagement in Africa.
SUGGESTED READING:
- Global Times: Africa is regarded by the United States as a “battlefield” for influence by Song Wei (in Chinese)
- China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Institute: After Blinken, Vice President Harris visited again. Can the US charm offensive capture the heart of Africa? by Liao Qin (in Chinese)
