The Birth of Africa: Why Did President Biden Visit the United States? How Did China and Russia Start the War on the World Trade Abundance?
Joyce M.Davis is an editor for PennLive and The Patriot- News, as well as the president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She has worked as a journalist in various places around the world, including for National Public Radio, Knight Ridder Newspapers andRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The opinions expressed here are her own. CNN has more opinion.
China’s trade with Africa reached a high of more than $254 billion last year. US trade with Africa is only a fraction of that, at only about $64 billion. Russia is the largest arms dealer in Africa, with major influence on many African countries. These ties affect American interests around the world. One case in point, Africa’s strong military relations with Russia have muted the continent’s criticism of the invasion of Ukraine, to the dismay of the US and much of the world.
The Biden administration push on the continent comes after China and Russia have boosted their investments and presence in the region. Having high-level officials like Harris visit helps provide a contrast with what the U.S. can offer the continent.
Ever the pragmatist, Macron simply did the math: Africa’s 1.4 billion people represent the fastest growing population on the planet. It’s also among the youngest, with 15.7 being the median age. Africa’s young population is poised to make their mark on the world, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that.
Africa has wars, natural disasters, and brutal dictators, like other continents. But it also has minerals and natural resources industries around the world need. It is home to a vibrant music and film industry that is elevating world culture and a growing population of consumers for American products.
“Improving Africa’s infrastructure is essential to our vision of building a stronger global economy that can better withstand the kinds of shocks that we’ve seen in the past few years,” Biden said during his remarks.
The U.S. High-Energy Warfare Summit on the South African Economic Cooperation (High-Yang-Mills Security Summit)
The leaders of four countries were not invited to the summit after recent coups. Some countries will be represented, but only with dire human rights records. The gathering is among the largest of foreign leaders in Washington in recent years and has lead to traffic jams and tightened security for dozens of motorcades and officials.
Biden will host the heads of delegation and their spouses for a dinner at the White House before kicking off Thursday’s program with a discussion about food security and food systems resilience in Africa, which Sullivan said has been disproportionately affected by Russia.
“It’s not a one-way street.” It’s not about imposing solutions. A senior administration official said it wasn’t just about foreign aid or humanitarian assistance. Deep people-to-people connections between the American people and people on the African continent are what it’s about.
Lloyd Austin, the US Defense Secretary, said Tuesday at the summit session that they see Russia peddling cheap weapons. “And also, we see Russia employing mercenaries across the continent, and that is destabilizing as well.”
“The Summit, just to take a step back, is rooted in the recognition that Africa is a key geopolitical player,” Sullivan said. “The continent will shape the future, not just of the African people, but also the world.”
The trip will also touch on a personal note for Harris, senior administration officials told reporters. She will be in the capital of the country where she traveled as a child. Her grandfather was a civil servant in India, and he worked on refugee resettlement issues.
Secretary of State Anthony Burns went to Ethiopia and a few other countries last week, as well as the first lady of the United States, who went to Africa earlier this month. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Senegal, Zambia and South Africa this year, too.
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In her discussions with leaders, students and business owners, Harris intends to talk about issues related to democracy, technology, economic growth, food security, and Russia’s war in Ukraine, officials said.
Mark Green was the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development in the Trump administration and he claimed China and Russia were trying to build dependency. “We seek to build self-reliance,” Green said in an interview.
But the U.S. focus has to be on listening to leaders about the needs of the continent rather than on U.S. geopolitical strategy, said Green, who is now the head of the Wilson Center in Washington.
“Whenever you say ‘strategic’ or whenever you talk about China, the natural reaction for Africans is, ‘OK, well, this isn’t about us, it’s about somebody else,’” Green said.