Currently in Washington, African heads of state are converging for a landmark series of meetings with the United States officials and businesses. The event has been billed as the clearest sign yet of the Obama administration's desire to reassert American interests in the continent, which have taken a back seat to the United States' long-standing foreign policy headaches in the Middle East and west Asia.
Africa is home to six of the world's 10 most dynamic economies and is a huge untapped market for American goods and services. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, the co-chair of a U.S.-Africa business forum on Tuesday that was part of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, expects that event alone to "serve as a catalyst for more than $14 billion in business deals with benefits that travel in both directions across the Atlantic."
But that tantalizing sum will be tempered by other concerns. On the eve of the summit, Human Rights Watch urged the United States to use the occasion to press numerous African governments on questions of human rights. On Monday, Vice President Biden lectured African officials on the importance of safeguarding and deepening democratic institutions while developing their economies. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together," Biden said, invoking an oft-quoted African proverb.
After centuries of rapacious European colonialism, it's unclear how much patience many African dignitaries may have for Western moralizing — not least because the United States is far from Africa's sole suitor. There is a 21st-century scramble for Africa, where dozens of nations — now on a more even footing — are engaging a host of old powers and emerging economies. In 1992, for example, Brazil, China and India accounted for just 3 percent of Africa's trade; now they represent a quater of it. Here's a rundown of some of the biggest foreign players on the continent.
Although the Obama administration is forever at pains to stress that it does not see China as a competitor, the shadow of China's enormous stake in Africa undoubtedly hangs over proceedings this week in Washington. China's annual trade with Africa stands at around $200 billion, double the U.S. total. Chinese state companies are heavily invested in the extraction of natural resources across the continent, including oil, natural gas, minerals and ores. Roughly a million Chinese have moved to the continent as part of a workforce that has built massive infrastructure projects, ranging from dams and airports to highways and railroads. Africa is also a huge market for Chinese goods, including textiles and cheap electronics. Here's a recent Agence France-Presse map of Chinese investment in Africa.
Credit: Washington Post
