The Western-Chinese conflict over Africa... What have the G7 countries prepared?

At a time when China is achieving unprecedented successes in Africa, taking advantage of Western retreat and the continent's need for what Beijing can provide on easy terms, the United States and its allies are apprehensive about this expansion accompanied by power cards that it does not have, which prompted it to search for a global alliance that confronts China in Africa in particular. particular.

What are the chances of the G7 to curb the rise of Chinese influence in Africa?

China-Africa Partnership

Since the 1997 financial crisis in Asia, China has realized that it needs a global foreign policy that adopts integration into the global economy, and has made Africa an essential part of this plan to avoid the risks of unilateral economic dependence.

Beijing has relied in its relations with Africa on trade considerations, and has engaged in economic partnership with it since 2000, becoming in 2013 its largest trading partner.

China's successes in Africa are due to a number of reasons, the most important of which are: the way China presents itself to the continent as a developing country that has no colonial history, as well as bypassing the international conditions set by the West in providing aid and entering into joint projects.

The development of the economic partnership between China and Africa

• China has established 25 Chinese economic and trade cooperation zones in 16 African countries, and canceled the debts of 31 African countries worth 1.27 billion dollars.

• 46 African countries have signed joint cooperation agreements with China under the Belt and Road Initiative.

• 3,500 Chinese companies operate in Africa in various fields, and China's investments in infrastructure on the continent between 2016 and 2020 amounted to more than $200 billion.

• China directed 45% of its foreign aid between 2013 and 2015 to the African continent in the form of grants, interest-free loans, and soft loans (270 billion yuan).

• Since 2005, nearly $300 billion has flowed from China to Africa, and the number of African students studying in China has increased 20-fold since 2005.

• China and the BRICS group established a bank in 2014 in Shanghai called the New Development Bank accompanied by the phrase “the bank will not interfere in politics,” and the group considers it a counterforce to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

What is the level of the European-American partnership with Africa?

What observers and researchers in this field confirm is that the motives of the European Union and the United States converge to a large extent, which is to address the Chinese rise in Africa with the lack of coordination of efforts and initiatives.

While the European Union considered 2020 the year of partnership with Africa, US President Donald Trump used to describe African countries as "Shithole countries".

This is in addition to the colonial history of European countries that the United States of America inherited, by making military and security activities dominant in its relations with Africa compared to economic cooperation, which ranks lower.

For a long time, EU policy remained just promises and goodwill that were not fulfilled, and the EU moved after waves of asylum and immigration in attempts to remedy the matter, promising to invest $46 billion in Africa.

The United States of America has adopted a number of aid-related initiatives, such as what is known as the Washington consensus or the international conditions for providing aid, followed by the Opportunities and Growth Program (AGOA), which is directly related to concern about the Chinese challenge, and finally the “Prosperous Africa” initiative, but all of them collide with the rock of conditions and lack of Funding and weak partnership, noting that only 18 of 39 African countries have signed the AGOA Act and it has entered into force.

US direct investment in Africa declined to 47.5 billion in 2020, after reaching 141 billion dollars in 2008, a modest number compared to Chinese investments.

Washington has provided $592 million in humanitarian aid to Africa.

What is the G7 initiative?

In light of China's superiority, deepening its partnership, and achieving the strategic goals it had planned in Africa, and in light of the diminishing ability of the United States to confront them alone, the West is trying to rely on the G7 wall in order to win even part of the pie in Africa.

The aim of the group's initiative is to seek to raise 600 billion euros by 2027, to provide the best offers to the world in terms of infrastructure investment.

Sub-Saharan Africa will be a key priority for the partnership launched by the Group of Seven.

The United States allocated $200 billion, and the European Union $300 billion, with the remaining members to complete the remainder of the project.

And in 2025, China will have allocated 440 billion dollars, which means that it can exceed the seven project alone.

Observers stress that if the project finds its way to implementation, it may compete with the Chinese dragon, but at the same time there are fears that the group will be able to fulfill these obligations.

In this regard, US Vice President Kamala Harris said, "We recognize the critical importance of strengthening our relations with countries across Africa, which is why we will hold the US-American Leaders Summit from December 13 to 15, and this summit will demonstrate America's enduring commitment to Africa."

Harris adds that barriers remain, most notably limited access to capital, high financing costs, and legal and regulatory complexities, which is sufficient evidence to acknowledge the impotence to sweep China.

How does Africa view the competition of the two projects?

Observers believe that many African countries will take aid and money from any party, and leaders in Africa want to ease conditions on aid, which is available with China, which provides funds more than others, while being keen on facilitating loans and exempting part of them when necessary.