Clinton's Africa visit fuels debate on competition between US and China
http://chinawatch.washingtonpost.com/2012/08/clintons-africa-visit-fuels-debate-on-competition-between-us-and-china.php
US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has concluded an 11-day tour of Africa in
which she promoted a new US
strategy for the continent.
The visit also stoked international debate about whether the
US and China, the world's
two biggest economies, are competing for resources in Africa.
Clinton's remarks during the trip, although not mentioning
any country by name, were widely interpreted by analysts and media to be
targeting China and lobbying African leaders to cooperate with the US, which
was replaced by China three years ago as Africa's biggest trading partner.
Clinton arrived in Senegal on Aug 1 and visited Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya,
Malawi, South Africa and Ghana. It was the highest-level
visit to the continent by a US
official since Barack Obama's administration issued a new strategy for Africa in June.
Clinton said in Senegal that the US
was committed to "a model of sustainable partnership that adds value,
rather than extracts it" from Africa. She
said unlike other countries, the US "will stand up for
democracy and universal human rights even when it might be easier to look the
other way and keep the resources flowing".
A Xinhua News Agency commentary said Clinton's
trip had a "hidden agenda", which was "aimed, at least partly,
at discrediting China's
engagement with the continent and curbing China's influence there".
"Her remarks betrayed an attempt to drive a wedge
between China and Africa for
selfish gain by the US,"
said the commentary headlined "US
plot to sow discord between China,
Africa is doomed to fail".
He Wenping, an expert on African studies at the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences, said figuring out how to balance China's
influence in Africa may be one of the strategic intentions of Clinton's
visit to Africa.
"The White House has stated that China is no threat to the US, and called for closer cooperation to support
Africa's development," He wrote in an
article.
"But consider Clinton's accusations against China's
'new colonialism' during her visit to Zambia in June last year and her
criticism of China's development and investment mode during her tour of China's
neighbors in early July."
He wrote that the Obama administration recognizes that the
next economic boom may be in Africa and wants
to "motivate US enterprises to participate in the African
renaissance."
China-Africa trade ballooned to $166.3 billion in 2011, as
African exports to China
jumped to more than $93 billion.
Chinese direct investment in the continent has exceeded $15
billion, with investment projects covering 50 countries.
In July, President Hu Jintao announced that China
will provide $20 billion in loans to help African countries develop
infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and small and medium-sized
enterprises.
Accompanying Clinton were a
number of US
trade representatives. US
Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank is expected to arrive in Africa
soon, becoming the first US
commerce minister to visit the continent.
Some US
analysts rejected the idea that the US and China
are competing for resources in Africa.
Morgan Roach, an African studies expert at the Heritage
Foundation, said the Obama administration largely continued the Africa strategy of the past administration.
"There wasn't anything new and was a missed
opportunity. Africa has changed a lot in the past decade and the United States
needs a strategy that reflects this," she said.
She said there is a common misperception that the US and China are in competition in Africa.
"It suggests that they have the same interests. They
don't. China perceives Africa as an ideal investment opportunity, where it can
work quickly and efficiently with African leaders. In the United States, relative good
governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights are prerequisites for
engagement, economic or otherwise," she said.
"China
often has more in common, at least ideologically, with African leaders than the
United States
does. This not only facilitates trade and economic growth, but leads to further
cooperation in other areas of foreign policy for example, the United
Nations," she said.
Douglas Paal, vice-president of studies at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, said that Clinton's trip is "of no compelling
strategic significance" as she is about to complete her term as secretary
of state.
