When the ebola crisis first struck West Africa, China was among the only major powers to not only keep its personnel in the affected countries but to also send tens of millions of dollars in badly needed aid. The US, by contrast, was visibly absent. That is, until President Barack Obama announced the deployment of 3,000 US military personnel on top of $175 million in other assistance. Now, critics are accusing China of not doing enough given its outsized economic presence in West Africa. Sure, China is now Africa’s largest trading partner but given its own status as a developing country, is it fair to compare the US and Chinese response to the ebola crisis?
Some of the articles referenced in this podcast include:
- Forbes: How much can China offer in Africa’s ebola crisis?
- Bloomberg View: Africa’s ebola should be China’s problem
