Little Stick, Big Carrot: US, China Policy towards Africa

Lush with US debt, and an insatiable thirst for raw materials the ‘factory floor’ of the world - China - continues to court resource-laden Africa. With a population of nearly 900 million, Africa constitutes an immense market for Chinese manufactured goods. It also provides a production platform for Chinese companies, or more precisely the Chinese government.

China's policy of giving ‘no-strings-attached’ loans, however, undermines US efforts at promoting democracy on the continent. For example, Zimbabwe has the second largest platinum reserves in the world, but it is also. some might argue, home to one of the continent’s longest-serving dictators, Robert Mugabe. Because of Mugabe, the US and Europe pledged $500 million towards Zimbabwe’s recovery, a far cry from the requested $8 billion needed to bring the country back to pre-crisis output levels.

Much to the West’s chagrin, China, because of its national interests in the Zimbabwe’s natural resources, and its 12 million-strong market for its goods and services, recently pledged nearly $1 billion to Zimbabwe’s government. If I were a policy adviser to Obama, I would encourage a rethinking of US policy towards Africa, given the changing realities on the ground. To that end president Obama's maiden visit to Africa (Ghana) as president of the United States was a wasted opportunity.

No new post-aid US-Africa relationship was carved. More precisely, there was not a single definitive negotiation of new and better trade agreements. While governments may benefit from Chinese investments, the people will continue to suffer from unchecked government repression and corruption. I argue that Obama failed to market the United States to the African people as an equal partner not just to the governments but also to its people. Rather, he continued the lecturing of African leadership as has become tradition regardless of who is in the oval office.

Unless the United States awakens to the reality of the awakening dragon (China), it would be relegated to second place not just to African governments' choice but also to the African people.