After a good weekend’s work which saw his ex-wife win an election as the new leader of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma flew on to Beijing. There, at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, he celebrated the new power configurations within Africa and beyond.

‘We are particularly pleased that in our relationship with China we are equals and that agreements entered into are for mutual gain,’ Zuma told a meeting attended by Beijing’s outgoing President Hu Jintao. Such sentiments might seem exaggerated, given that cheap Chinese imports had almost destroyed South Africa’s textile industry until Zuma’s predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, imposed rigid quotas on Chinese companies and Beijing quickly acquiesced.

Perhaps such blatant toadying is an attempt to draw the West into a bidding war in Africa. ‘We are certainly convinced that China’s intention is different to Europe, which to date continues to intend to influence African countries for their sole benefit,’ Zuma said.

The two biggest economies in the West, the United States and Germany, take the message seriously. Berlin, which like China invests hugely in the AU, is planning to increase its 6 billion euro (US$7.4 bn.) aid programme to Africa. And this week the US proposed a new trade deal with the East African Community, which is Africa’s latest oil and gas frontier. Last year, US trade with East Africa grew by 34%.