• Mr. Blinken will be visiting Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Angola, and Cape Verde on his 6 day tour.
• While the brass downplays the trip having anything to do with countering Chinese influence, given the reality of the U.S.’s situation in Africa, this is unlikely to be the case.
American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will be heading to Africa early next week on a 6 day, four nation diplomatic tour. Mr. Blinken will be visiting Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Angola, and Cape Verde; this will be his fourth trip to the continent.
President Joe Biden has also voiced interest in a trip to Africa this year but so far no details are known as to when this official state visit might be or which nations Mr. Biden plans to visit.
A spokesperson from the State Department, Matthew Miller, commented on the nature of Mr. Blinken’s tour week saying that it will “highlight how the United States has accelerated the U.S.-Africa partnership, including in areas such as climate, food, and health security”.
Mr. Miller went on to say that Mr. Blinken “will also emphasize our future focused economic partnership and how the United States is investing in infrastructure in Africa to boost two-way trade, create jobs at home and on the continent, and help Africa compete in the global marketplace”.
Mr. Blinken will also be discussing the security situation in the Sahel and coastal western Africa (regions which have experienced a handful of military coups) when he arrives in the Ivory Coast.
When asked whether countering China’s influence in Africa would be a major theme of the visit, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee said that this was something that preoccupied the media.
She stated that “If China didn’t exist, we would be fully engaged in Africa,” she said. “Africa is important for its own sake, and it’s important for American interests.”
Judging by her answer, the media seems right to be preoccupied by the question of whether the trip will feature China’s influence in Africa as a major theme.
Diplomats and state officials in Washington D.C. have known for many years now that the United States is losing its influence in Africa when compared to China.
China has been a big spender in the continent with many African countries benefitting from Chinese investment via China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Forbes also reported that in 2018 the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) was awarded a $6.68 billion contract to complete the Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge Railway in Nigeria.
According to the China Africa Research Initiative based at Johns Hopkins University, since 2013 China has spent more in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa than the U.S. The top five destinations of Chinese FDI were Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Guinea, South Africa, and Kenya. For the U.S. the top five destinations of FDI were South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Republic of Congo.
Given this, Mr. Blinken’s trip will likely be significantly concerned with America’s standing in Africa and how effectively the U.S. is countering Chinese influence.
