US policy on Africa 'shows contempt'

Critics say White House should end hysteria against China and Russia

Washington's new Africa strategy that was rolled out last week shows contempt for the inalienable right of African countries to seek funding and technological support from other nations, while stoking hostile and groundless accusations against China and Russia, analysts said.

Calling China and Russia's commercial cooperation with African nations "predatory practices", United States National Security Adviser John Bolton on Thursday asserted that the two countries "stunt economic growth in Africa; threaten the financial independence of African nations; inhibit opportunities for US investment; interfere with US military operations; and pose a significant threat to US national security interests".

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang refuted the remarks, stressing that "what China cares about is African countries' needs, such as industrialization and agricultural modernization".

"In contrast, it is interesting to see from the remarks of some Americans that, besides its own interests and demands, the US is concerned about China and Russia rather than Africa," Lu added.

As facilitating Africa's peace and development is the common responsibility of the international community, China has always adopted an open-minded attitude toward Africa-related international cooperation, and believed that all parties' investments in the continent on the basis of respect should be welcome, Lu said.

In a Xinhua News Agency report, Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution said the new US strategy is faced with numerous challenges ahead, namely "legislative authority to back the plan up, inadequate details about its implementation, continuous conditional finance and assistance, and a persistent emphasis on bilateral trade deals with African nations, which would put these countries, most developing or underdeveloped ones, in a disadvantage".

Many US analysts said that it would be more advisable for the Trump administration to stop indulging in unnecessary and undue hysteria regarding China or Russia, and that Africa is big enough to accommodate both Chinese and US engagements.

Cavince Adhere, a scholar on the China-Africa relationship based in Nairobi, Kenya, said while Trump has a responsibility to play the national interest card, it is unfortunate that his latest move seems to position Africa as the next pawn in the debilitating game of great power politics with the likes of China and Russia.

Much has been achieved

"The new US-Africa policy should not erode gains already consolidated between China and Africa. At the heart of Beijing's dealings with African capitals is a desire for a win-win partnership," Adhere said, adding that much has been achieved in areas such as agriculture, trade, investments and human capacity building.

"Africa's prosperity will not come with a binary choice between the US and other partners. Every well-meaning entity is welcome," he said.

He Wenping, a senior researcher on African studies at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said hostility toward China and Russia in the Trump's foreign policy actions is worrisome.

He said China-Africa cooperation is driven by mutual benefits, not by achieving strategic results, and the order in Africa should be built on equal opportunities for all foreign investors, under which no one seeks exclusive interests, nor do they use political or security means to alienate economic cooperation.

Contact the writers at panmengqi@chinadaily.com.cn

Xinhua contributed to this story.

(China Daily 12/17/2018 page12)