WASHINGTON - 

Of the 55 African heads of government, 49 have been invited to attend the second summit that brings together the United States and African leaders, to be hosted by President Joe Biden in Washington next week.

The summit, which will be held from December 13 to 15, is the second gathering of African heads of state and an American president after the 2014 summit during the era of former President Barack Obama.

The summit is an important symbol of the value Washington has recently placed on its African relations, and African leaders have responded so well that every invited leader is expected to attend.


Don't ignore Africa

In his speech to the inaugural conference of the first US-African summit in 2014, Obama talked about his "African blood" that runs through his veins and how US ties with Africa - for him, are a personal matter before they are political that serve Washington's interests.

However, US and African relations have not developed to a mutually acceptable degree in recent decades.

The American elite accuses China and Russia of targeting investment in Africa to gain a competitive advantage over the United States, and of engaging in brutal and unfair trade practices in the region, referring to opaque deal-making, exploitative lending, self-interested extractive industry activity, and shady military and security cooperation.

Africa is of increasing importance at the global level, as the area of ​​the African continent is larger than the area of ​​the United States, China, India, Japan and most of Europe combined.

More than half of the world's arable land is located on the continent, along with many of the planet's untapped mineral resources, including strategic ones.

By the year 2100, Africa's population could double again, and the continent has a young population, with 41% of them under the age of 15.

Beijing and Moscow have long recognized the political, military, and economic importance of Africa, and both continue to seize opportunities to expand their influence across the continent.

The incursion of Chinese economic influence, and Russian security influence, into the African continent has become a growing concern for US policymakers.

China is keen to hold the Forum on Cooperation with Africa every 3 years (Reuters)

Chinese incursion into Africa

China has held the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing every 3 years regularly since 2000, which is widely seen as an important way to advance China's diplomatic and trade interests.

Meanwhile, China has overtaken the United States as Africa's largest trading partner since 2009, with bilateral trade totaling more than $254 billion in 2021, up 35% from 2020.

In a study issued a few days ago by the US Institute of Peace, researcher specializing in African affairs, Tom Sheehy, confirmed that while "the summit of US-Africa leaders revolves around US relations with the continent, China will be found in the background of all discussions."

The Joe Biden administration's Africa strategy, which was released last August, indicates that "Africa's governments, institutions and people will play a decisive role in many global challenges."

The strategy stated that China views Africa as "an important arena for challenging the rules-based international order, promoting its narrow trade and geopolitical interests, undermining transparency and openness, and weakening US relations with African people and governments."

US officials have also expressed concern about China's military activities in Africa.

In 2017, China completed its first overseas military base in Djibouti.

There have also been reports of China looking to build naval bases on Africa's Atlantic coast, including in Equatorial Guinea, where Chinese companies have built and upgraded port facilities.

This raised the concern of the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon), and prompted the Biden administration to intensify communication with Equatorial Guinea.

Russian "Wagner" forces are located in a number of African countries (Anatolia)

Russia, weapons and mercenaries

For its part, Russia has expanded its presence in Africa, focusing generally on arms sales and military training through Russian paramilitary companies such as Wagner, in addition to intelligence sharing and access to minerals, particularly uranium and platinum.

Russia has also become Africa's largest arms supplier, and aims to build broad influence through security partnerships.

The pattern of many African countries voting on UN resolutions on Russia's war on Ukraine indicates growing Russian influence.

US-European military cooperation with Africa is increasing (French)

Africa as a strategic security importance for Washington

Early in the Biden administration, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told allies that the United States would not expect them to choose between Washington and Beijing.

Washington pledged to promote more trade relations with African partners while confronting Chinese and Russian influence on the continent, which it described as a "major threat" to US national security interests.

Since the establishment of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) in 2007, the US military presence on the continent has increased to several thousand soldiers.

In testimony before Congress in January 2020, former AFRICOM commander General Stephen Townsend stated that "about 5,100 US military personnel, and about a thousand civilians and contractors in the Department of Defense" are active in Africa.

Washington is focusing on combating what it describes as "terrorism", especially in the Sahel countries in West and North Africa.

Most of the US military is stationed in Djibouti, which hosts the only US military base inside Africa.

About 760 US military personnel are deployed to West Africa, most of them in Niger, where they are conducting a range of activities, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flights from a new US Air Force facility, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service.

American advantages of partnership with Africa

The United States is the world's largest donor of foreign aid, and only a third of that money goes to Africa.

Washington is working to discuss re-prioritizing aid and allocating more to Africa.

On the other hand, American companies cannot compete against Chinese and other companies in certain industries, such as infrastructure projects and building roads and bridges. Chinese companies have lower cost structures and benefit from decades of practical experience in Africa.

At the same time, some US companies enjoy significant advantages in the health, financial technology and renewable energy sectors.

In contrast to China, the United States has a large African community residing in the United States, many of whom maintain trade links with Africa.

The Washington Summit works to involve African communities in initiatives to support relations with the continent.