Getting Africa on the agenda in Washington, D.C. has never been easy, but now it’ll be near impossible as America’s senior foreign policy leaders become consumed managing the burgeoning crisis in Iran, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Contrast that with what’s going on today in Cairo where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is embarking on a five-nation African tour. Wang, as is customary for Chinese Foreign Ministers, begins every year with a visit to Africa first. And this won’t be his only visit of the year. In just the past few months alone, Wang has made several trips to various African countries.