Africa, Meet Qin Gang… Qin Gang, this is Africa

File image of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang who embarked on his first official visit to Africa on January 9, 2023 in his new role. Image via Xinhua.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang begins a five-nation, week-long tour of Africa in what will be his first public appearance in his new role. Qin, who until a few weeks ago was Beijing’s envoy to Washington, D.C., is a Europeanist who has no background in African affairs or anywhere else in the Global South.

So, during his visits to Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, Egypt, along with stops at the African Union and Africa CDC HQs in Addis Ababa and the Arab League office in Cairo, watch for Qin to treat this visit more as a listening tour rather than a forum to articulate any new directions in Chinese foreign policy for the continent.

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by Eric Olander

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