China is also a hero in Africa during the corona crisis

The first symptoms of the corona crisis appeared in small China Town in Kenya's capital Nairobi. By then, no cases had been registered in Kenya, but the restaurants gaped empty at lunchtime, although there used to be plenty of people smashing Chinese authenticity in the small stands.

From China many in Africa expected the virus to come to the continent, due to the close cooperation China and Africa have on many levels.

But that was not the case - instead, it was Europeans who downloaded the first cases of covid-19 to Africa.

China quickly recovered from the small reputation in Africa. That's thanks to his celebrity billionaire Jack Ma, founder of Chinese online retailer Alibaba, and his foundation. At the end of March, he sent over one million tests, six million masks and 60,000 protective suits to Africa. Concretely, quickly and in addition there will be good looking pictures.

He and his friend, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last fall, jointly announced Jack's generous donation.

On Monday, several media topped it again with Jack Ma now sending more help. This time, 500 respirators, 200,000 protective overalls and face masks, 2,000 thermometers, and half a million gloves.

At the same time, I received a document summarizing the donations made to Africa during the covid-19 pandemic. Among other things, the Danish government has donated over 32 million Swedish kronor to Kenya via the World Bank, the US government several million US dollars to several African countries, organizations have donated billions of dollars in various forms. But "money to Kenya via the World Bank" does not give as heady headlines or as good looking press images. Jack Ma, the rescuer personified, is something the media likes to look up to.

Of course, China has made sure to ride the wave. Although Ma is not a state actor but a private person, it is China that is reaping the goodness points.

And this is something China has long been good at in Africa.

Just before the corona crisis, the EU launched its Africa strategy, where the Union emphasized that Africa should now be seen as an equal partner, not as any camp in need of help. The EU's problems have long been that the Union is not particularly good at lifting up its own positive efforts. Much work is being done, for example, for the environment and gender equality, but it is not something that people see in concrete terms, unlike China's roads, hospitals and railways.

The corona crisis shows the same tendencies. Many send in big bucks, but it is China, with Jack Ma, visible with their tests, masks and respirators. If the EU's Africa strategy is to be more than something that sounds good on paper, the Union must work to raise its reputation. In the new race in Africa, the EU is lagging behind.

Now many people are probably wondering: why should we care about corona in Africa, when Europe has a crisis bigger than anything we have seen since the Second World War?

The international system is only as strong as its weakest link. If the spread of the corona virus is not stopped in the poorest countries in the world, there is a risk that it will come back to us as well after we have succeeded in stopping the spread here.

How Africa's economies are coping with weeks of closed borders, frozen trade, lost income for the very poor and total stoppages in the tourism industry is not a fate issue for Africa, but also for Europe.