China is increasing its influence in Africa as part of its efforts to compete with the United States and enhance its hegemony over developing countries, according to the American New York Times.
In a report published on Wednesday, the newspaper dealt with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Africa this week, his first in five years, as he participated in the BRICS summit held in South Africa.
During the visit, the Chinese president pledged to strengthen cooperation with South Africa to “strengthen the voice of poor countries,” and praised developing countries for “throwing off the yoke of colonialism.”
During the visit, Xi sought to portray himself as a leader of the developing world, the newspaper says, adding that the warm reception given to the Chinese leader in South Africa reinforced the message that Beijing hopes to send to domestic and foreign public opinion.
The message, according to the newspaper, is that China’s efforts to create an alternative to the current US-led world order are popular outside the West.
“Xi is trying to discredit the West and show that an alternative exists,” says Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of the China Global South Project.
He adds that the Chinese president “is trying to tap into the huge amount of grievances and frustrations that exist in many developing countries about what they see as duplicity and hypocrisy on the part of rich countries.”
The newspaper indicates that this frustration is largely caused by many years of unfulfilled promises by developed countries to provide Covid-19 vaccines to poor countries and the feeling that the West is not doing enough about high food and energy prices.
Africa is an emerging competition for global influence, with Beijing pouring billions of dollars in loans, aid and investment into countries long ignored by the West.
The result of this Chinese move was its obtaining diplomatic support from developing countries in international organizations such as the United Nations and access to vital minerals needed to operate growing industries such as electric cars.
China’s spending spree in Africa has led to the emergence of highways and dams in many African countries.
But those projects have come with onerous debts in countries like Zambia and Angola, both of which owe billions of dollars to Chinese state-owned banks.
And while China has restructured some bilateral debts with countries such as Ethiopia and Zambia, analysts stress that this covers only a small part of the dues.
During the BRICS summit, the Chinese leader targeted the United States without mentioning it by name.
By contrast, Xi has portrayed China as a force for stability and referred to “vague initiatives” on development and security, according to the newspaper.
Analysts say that Xi wanted from all of this to confront the spread of Western liberal values and the influence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Africa and other countries around the world, but she nonetheless faces a real dilemma.
“China in general is running out of money, especially foreign exchange,” said Willie Lam, a senior fellow at the Jamestown think tank in Washington.
“This has been a major impediment to Beijing’s plans to expand its influence in the developing world,” he adds.
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2023-08-23 19:51:50
