Blinken in Africa This Week Where He Will Try Hard to Avoid Talking About China

Security and infrastructure development are expected to top the agenda of U.S. Secretary of State Antony's Blinken four-nation visit to Africa that got underway on Sunday. File image by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP.

One week after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up a four-nation visit to Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday embarked on his own week-long, four-stop tour of the continent that will take him to Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola.

While there was some speculation Blinken’s visit was timed specifically to follow Wang’s, White House officials said the scheduling of the Secretary’s visit so close to that of his Chinese counterpart’s was purely coincidental.

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