Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen embarked on an 11-day trip to Senegal, Zambia, and South Africa. The declared goal of Yellen’s charm offensive is to offer new economic opportunities to African nations. But what other objectives is the treasury secretary pursuing in the world’s second-largest continent? Could it be that the US is attempting to squeeze out Russia and China from the African market? Let’s take a closer look at this situation.
The US has long been trying to counter Russia and China’s influence in Africa. This is evidenced by Washington’s continued support for Ethiopia in its protracted conflict with Eritrea or the US Navy’s presence in Djibouti which serves as a check against Chinese expansionism. Moreover, the US Department of State has been actively promoting pro-Western forces across the continent while withholding aid from countries like Zimbabwe after they refused to toe Washington’s line.
Yet despite all this, it appears that Washington’s attempts have been largely unsuccessful so far. This can be attributed primarily to both Moscow and Beijing having established deeper ties with African states than the US ever did. For instance, Beijing has loaned billions of dollars for various infrastructure projects across Africa over the past decade or so while Russia has provided military training and hardware for some nations on the continent including South Sudan and Cameroon. In addition, both nations have also signed major economic agreements with African countries such as Angola and Nigeria—agreements which are beneficial for those countries’ economies but not necessarily beneficial for American interests.
Finally, there is also a perception among many Africans that both Russia and China are more sympathetic towards their nationalist aspirations than Western powers like the United States who often appear indifferent towards their struggles against colonialism or imperialism. This further increases Moscow and Beijing’s advantage when it comes to courting public opinion in Africa—something which will make it even harder for Washington to gain a foothold on the continent despite Yellen’s best efforts.
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In short, while Yellen’s visit may help strengthen ties between African nations and America economically, her efforts won’t be enough to offset Russia or China’s presence in Africa—at least not anytime soon. And even if she does succeed in squeezing out Moscow or Beijing from certain markets on the continent it would likely prove too little too late as both those nations have already entrenched themselves firmly into many African states through mutual cooperation over multiple decades. Therefore, it appears that Yellen’s trip may well go down as another failed attempt by America to gain influence in a region where they continue to lag behind their global rivals despite their best efforts thus far.
- For More Info: In Senegal, Yellen talks about future of US-Africa relations – Local 10
- Yellen Blames Russia, China Over Actions She Says Hurt Africa – Bloomberg-Yahoo News
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