By Andrew Hammond
The global spotlight is shining brightly on Africa. Leaders from top states in the continent are, separately, meeting Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Theresa May and Angela Merkel underlining their growing importance, especially on the economic front.
Politically, the continent has also assumed some additional influence. Yet, it is economically that the continent is especially coming of age boasting a growing number of key emerging markets as highlighted in the South Africa-hosted BRICS summit in July.
The growing economic weight of the continent is illustrated by the fact that it houses six of the world's top 12 fastest-growing countries: Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Tanzania and Rwanda. Moreover, the IMF also asserts that in the five years to 2023, Africa's overall growth prospects will be among the best in the world.
Small wonder therefore that nascent superpower China is showing increasing interest in the continent aiming to better connect its Belt and Road initiative increasingly with Africa development.
Beijing's top leadership (the president, premier and foreign minister) have reportedly made a total of around 80 visits to over 40 different African countries over the past 10 years. And following Xi's visits in July to Senegal, Rwanda, Mauritius and South Africa, he will host the China-Africa summit in Beijing this week with at least 50 heads of state attending.
While Trump has ― rightly ― been criticized for not having a coherent or clear Africa policy, his administration may now be waking up to smell the coffee of China's growing presence in Africa. This indeed was one of the topics at the White House on Aug. 27 when Trump met Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta whose nation's external debt is largely (around 70 percent) owed to Beijing, and where Chinese firms are building many large infrastructure projects.
Kenya is a key U.S. partner in the region, including in the campaign against terrorism, and the White House talks explored ways to boost bilateral trade via the U.S. Africa Growth and Opportunity Act legislation.
While the session was only the second one-on-one meeting the U.S. president has held with a sub-Saharan African leader since he took office, there appears to be modest momentum in Washington in the direction of developing an ambitious Africa strategy.
This includes the appointment in June of Tibor Nagy as the State Department's top diplomat in the continent, and recent indications that the region could become part of the new U.S. "Indo-Pacific" strategy, despite the fact that it is not usually seen as part of that already massive geography from the U.S. Pacific coast westwards.
Yet it not just China and the United States that are showing greater interest in the continent. Many other key nations ― India, the Gulf states, Turkey and top EU nations such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom ― are also showering Africa with greater interest, giving countries there more diplomatic options than just Beijing and Washington moving forward.
Under Emmanuel Macron, for instance, Paris is seeking to double down ties with its former colonies while embedding relations with the continent's biggest economies, including South Africa and Nigeria.
Last week, however, it was not Macron, but Merkel and May who were visiting the continent. The German chancellor met on Thursday and Friday with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (who is the only other sub-Saharan leader Trump has seen at the White House) to try to embed Berlin's ties with the nation that is sometimes called the "giant of Africa."
While Merkel has made numerous trips to the continent before, May ― belatedly ― made her first prime ministerial visit seeing the heads of three major Commonwealth countries: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Buhari and also Kenyatta in what she calls "a unique opportunity at a unique moment."
For the United Kingdom, the continent has assumed new importance with Brexit as London seeks to consolidate ties with key non-EU nations as it leaves the Brussels-based club.
Given the longstanding historical ties the U.K. has with Africa, May is seeking to rediscover the U.K.'s heritage "as a great global trading nation" with a "prosperous, growing ... Africa." However, it is not solely through the lens of economics that she views the relationship.
She also stressed ― as did Trump ― the need for greater security ties with the West "to tackle instability across the region." In Nigeria on Wednesday, for instance, the threat of Boko Haram was discussed, and in Kenya (where she made the first trip by a U.K. prime minister since 1988) she saw firsthand on Thursday the role U.K. troops are playing there as part of an alliance of countries fighting al-Shabab militants in Somalia.
This underlines that, while the upsurge of attention to Africa by Western powers and China largely reflects economic calculations, some broader political considerations are in play too. From Brexit to the great power game underway between Washington and Beijing in the continent, interest in the region is only likely to grow in coming years, especially if it continues to fulfill its economic potential.
Andrew Hammond (andrewkorea@outlook.com) is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.
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Politically, the continent has also assumed some additional influence. Yet, it is economically that the continent is especially coming of age boasting a growing number of key emerging markets as highlighted in the South Africa-hosted BRICS summit in July.
The growing economic weight of the continent is illustrated by the fact that it houses six of the world's top 12 fastest-growing countries: Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Tanzania and Rwanda. Moreover, the IMF also asserts that in the five years to 2023, Africa's overall growth prospects will be among the best in the world.
Small wonder therefore that nascent superpower China is showing increasing interest in the continent aiming to better connect its Belt and Road initiative increasingly with Africa development.
Beijing's top leadership (the president, premier and foreign minister) have reportedly made a total of around 80 visits to over 40 different African countries over the past 10 years. And following Xi's visits in July to Senegal, Rwanda, Mauritius and South Africa, he will host the China-Africa summit in Beijing this week with at least 50 heads of state attending.
While Trump has ― rightly ― been criticized for not having a coherent or clear Africa policy, his administration may now be waking up to smell the coffee of China's growing presence in Africa. This indeed was one of the topics at the White House on Aug. 27 when Trump met Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta whose nation's external debt is largely (around 70 percent) owed to Beijing, and where Chinese firms are building many large infrastructure projects.
Kenya is a key U.S. partner in the region, including in the campaign against terrorism, and the White House talks explored ways to boost bilateral trade via the U.S. Africa Growth and Opportunity Act legislation.
While the session was only the second one-on-one meeting the U.S. president has held with a sub-Saharan African leader since he took office, there appears to be modest momentum in Washington in the direction of developing an ambitious Africa strategy.
This includes the appointment in June of Tibor Nagy as the State Department's top diplomat in the continent, and recent indications that the region could become part of the new U.S. "Indo-Pacific" strategy, despite the fact that it is not usually seen as part of that already massive geography from the U.S. Pacific coast westwards.
Yet it not just China and the United States that are showing greater interest in the continent. Many other key nations ― India, the Gulf states, Turkey and top EU nations such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom ― are also showering Africa with greater interest, giving countries there more diplomatic options than just Beijing and Washington moving forward.
Under Emmanuel Macron, for instance, Paris is seeking to double down ties with its former colonies while embedding relations with the continent's biggest economies, including South Africa and Nigeria.
Last week, however, it was not Macron, but Merkel and May who were visiting the continent. The German chancellor met on Thursday and Friday with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (who is the only other sub-Saharan leader Trump has seen at the White House) to try to embed Berlin's ties with the nation that is sometimes called the "giant of Africa."
While Merkel has made numerous trips to the continent before, May ― belatedly ― made her first prime ministerial visit seeing the heads of three major Commonwealth countries: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Buhari and also Kenyatta in what she calls "a unique opportunity at a unique moment."
For the United Kingdom, the continent has assumed new importance with Brexit as London seeks to consolidate ties with key non-EU nations as it leaves the Brussels-based club.
Given the longstanding historical ties the U.K. has with Africa, May is seeking to rediscover the U.K.'s heritage "as a great global trading nation" with a "prosperous, growing ... Africa." However, it is not solely through the lens of economics that she views the relationship.
She also stressed ― as did Trump ― the need for greater security ties with the West "to tackle instability across the region." In Nigeria on Wednesday, for instance, the threat of Boko Haram was discussed, and in Kenya (where she made the first trip by a U.K. prime minister since 1988) she saw firsthand on Thursday the role U.K. troops are playing there as part of an alliance of countries fighting al-Shabab militants in Somalia.
This underlines that, while the upsurge of attention to Africa by Western powers and China largely reflects economic calculations, some broader political considerations are in play too. From Brexit to the great power game underway between Washington and Beijing in the continent, interest in the region is only likely to grow in coming years, especially if it continues to fulfill its economic potential.
Andrew Hammond (andrewkorea@outlook.com) is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.
