Trump’s Africa strategy should cast China as a regional partner, not a global adversary
Donald Trump doesn’t care for Africa so much as he cares about countering and controlling China
US President Donald Trump has finally approved a “New Africa Strategy”. His national security adviser John Bolton described the contents on December 13 at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington. He began positively, declaring that “lasting stability, prosperity, independence and security on the African continent are in the national security interest of the US”. But he then went on to ignore Africa’s own efforts to address these broad challenges, including its multilateral initiatives. Instead, Bolton’s announcement was replete with rhetoric reminiscent of the Cold War. The new strategy makes one thing clear: what really matters to Trump is not Africa but containing and countering China. The reaction from an African perspective is likely be bemusement rather than surprise. Trump has shown little interest or empathy towards Africa. And much enmity toward China. His Africa strategy ignores two decades of complex — but generally positive — reactions across Sub-Saharan Africa...
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