Category: U.S.-CHINA-AFRICA
Chinese State Media Strident on Summit
While the Chinese public seems disinterested in the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, China’s state media is rolling out the invective. The state-owned nationalist tabloid Global Times published two highly negative articles dismissing the summit. In ...
Oh, the Talking Points: Why It’s Sometimes Better When U.S. Officials Leave China Out of the Africa Conversation…
At the outset of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, one message was clear: African countries hate being made to ‘choose sides’ between the U.S. and China. So, U.S. officials were determined to avoid the appearance of making them do so. That meant steering away from China-related discussions as ...
Chinese Social Media Largely Ignores U.S.-Africa Summit
While the state media reaction in China to the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit has been predictably negative, Chinese social media has largely ignored the event completely. China Global South Project China editor Han Zhen wrote: “Nowadays, most Chinese media outlets are very ...
U.S.-Africa Summit Showcases New Biden Strategy, Amid Republican Complaints
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris opened the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit yesterday with an optimistic message focusing on Africa’s youth. President Joe Biden is scheduled to join the summit today, and his administration has leaned into new cooperation initiatives. These include an additional $100 ...
Chinese Press: The U.S.-Africa Summit is All About China
The Chinese press and think tank coverage of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit is echoing the geopolitics-focused response from the Foreign Ministry. China’s state-owned nationalist tabloid Global Times set the tone by arguing that the summit is a continuation of Trump-era “America First’ approach, saying that “whether the ...
Global Coverage Zeroes In On Weak U.S.-Africa Engagement
Global coverage of the U.S.-Africa Leaders' Summit pointed out how little energy has been invested in the relationship in contrast to China's ongoing diplomatic outreach. Kate Fisher, a correspondent for Singapore's Channel New Asia, summed it up: “President Biden is yet ...
U.S. Playing “Catch Up” to China in Africa, Says Senior Commerce Department Official
U.S. Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves said the quiet part out loud on Monday at the Semafor Africa Summit in Washington, D.C., when he acknowledged that American stakeholders had fallen far behind China in terms of economic engagement in Africa. ...
Media Frustrates White House Efforts to Avoid Making This Week’s Africa Summit About China
Senior African policy officials in the White House and State Department have been adamant that this week's African leaders summit is about Africa... not China. But the international news media doesn't appear to see it that way -- framing the story as the latest installment of the ...
Washington and Beijing have Very Different Takes On Next Week’s U.S.-Africa Summit
Preparations are ramping up for next week’s U.S.-Africa leaders’ summit. 13-15 December will see leaders from 49 countries, as well as numerous businesspeople, civil society envoys, and journalists descending on Washington DC to attend the first such event since the Obama era.
What the U.S. Doesn’t Seem to Understand About Africa’s Ties With China
The following is a transcript of a seven-part Twitter thread written by World Politics Review Associate Editor Chris Olaoluwa Ògúnmọ́dẹdé on what he believes the U.S. doesn't understand about why African governments choose to engage with China. ...