Ken Moritsugu and Monika Pronczuk of the Associated Press report that Xi offered African leaders more aid as China challenges the US-led global order. They write:
Dozens of African leaders gathered Thursday in Beijing for a summit that signals China’s influence in a continent that it hopes will be a key ally in pushing back against a U.S.-led global order.
Chinese President Xi Jinping promised the leaders billions of dollars in loans and private investment over the next three years, and proposed that relations with all African countries that have diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the “strategic” level.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with each other to firmly defend our legitimate rights and interests,” he said at the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
China has become a major player in Africa since the forum was founded in 2000. Its companies have invested heavily in mining for the resources Chinese industry needs, and its development banks have made loans to build railways, roads and other infrastructure under Xi’s Belt and Road program. […]
China has tried to position itself as a leader of the Global South, a catchphrase for the developing world. While others don’t necessarily see China as the leader, its message of rewriting the international order resonates with African nations that feel frustrated and abandoned by their traditional Western partners.
Many African nations have been openly critical of the U.S. role in the war in Ukraine and refused to condemn Russia’s invasion, taking a non-aligned stance that has led to political frictions with the U.S. […]
Kenya is seeking financing to finish a partially built rail project that was meant to connect the port city of Mombasa to neighboring Uganda, but it is unclear whether China would agree.
Read more here.
