The West New Africa Policy Is Not About Africa It Is About China
The sudden rediscovery of Africa by Western powers has been presented as a belated recognition of Africa's importance to the global economy. Africans would be wise to understand it...
The sudden rediscovery of Africa by Western powers has been presented as a belated recognition of Africa’s importance to the global economy. Africans would be wise to understand it for what it actually is: a competitive response to Chinese infrastructure investment.
This is not cynicism. It is pattern recognition. The same Western governments now offering infrastructure investment opposed debt cancellation for African countries for decades and cheered when African governments were forced to sell state assets at knock-down prices.
None of this means Africa should reject Western investment. It means Africa should negotiate with clear eyes, understanding that it sits at the fulcrum of a great power competition.
African leaders must stop performing gratitude for investments that serve Western strategic interests as much as African development. Interest alignment is a strong negotiating position. Gratitude is a weak one.
0 Comments