confidentially speaking
The Africa Confidential Blog
The world courts Africa
Blue Lines
For a few weeks Africa is shrugging off its marginal role in
international affairs.
After the tours of Africa by China's
President Xi Jinping and
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in mid-year, Britain's Prime
Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel criss-crossed the continent in the week ending 2 September. The May and
Merkel sojourns will be followed by a raft of Africa meetings at the
United Nations General Assembly, a Group of 20 meeting in October in
which Germany will push ahead with its Africa compact plan, and an
Africa Union-European Union summit in November. But the main event for
most African leaders will be the Focus on China-Africa Cooperation in
Beijing on 3-5 September.
Of course, trade volumes are not the sole determinant of the diplomatic
pecking order – particularly as criticism mounts of the growing debt
owed to China – but they are a critical pointer, and China's US$200
billion of trade with Africa compares to the United States'
$50 bn. and Britain's $35 bn. Apart from business, Beijing tends the
relationships with relentless visits to Africa by presidents and prime
ministers. By contrast, May's trip to Kenya is the first by a British prime minister for over 30 years. If
President Xi is leading the African tour medals table, France's Emmanuel Macron is running a close
second. Britain is still near the back of the pack after India, Japan, Korea, Turkey and Germany.