Once again, the United States has carefully designed a trap against China.
Blinken's visit provides an opportunity for the United States to expand its influence in Africa. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited four African countries as soon as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi returned from a trip to four African countries, a move that has led to speculation about whether the purpose is to deal with China. In Biden's 2022 National Defense ***, the United States proposed that in the coming decades, the United States will treat China with diplomacy as the main battlefield. Based on this concept, the United States has been trying to expand its sphere of influence in recent years, mainly in the Pacific island countries, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Ironically, compared to the traditional allies of the United States, such as Europe, Japan, Australia, etc., most of them belong to developing countries, or relatively poor countries. Regarding this, such a sentence once appeared on the Internet: "America's friends are rich, but your enemies are poor." While this statement may seem somewhat true compared to us, it has a major logical flaw. Before World War II, most of America's allies were wealthy countries, but the United States adopted a strategy of isolation before World War II. In fact, the most advanced country supported by the United States is South Korea. Therefore, those former allies of the United States do not form partners with the United States, but they will also form partnerships with the United States, mainly because they have their own potential for development. If development can be achieved by simply doing business with the United States, then why is it that places like Latin America's "backyard" are still poor and even chaotic? The same is true for Africa, although there are several ** in Africa, but the United States does not pay much attention to Africa. Africa is a relatively backward country, so it will take a lot of manpower, material resources, financial resources, and time, which the United States is unwilling to do. But China and Russia can't get it. Therefore, in the past two years, the influence of China and Russia on Africa has been increasing, while the influence of the United States has weakened. Biden ** Until 2022, anti-China legislators in the United States have also been trying hard to win over Africa, and held the second meeting of American and African leaders. Who knows when it was first held? It was in 2014, with exactly eight years between the two terms, and it became clear that the United States was taking an indifferent approach to Africa. Therefore, the current attempt of the United States to form an alliance with Africa is not from a development point of view, but simply to deal with China and Russia. China must be careful, and Russia is no exception, but the real danger of the United States is not great, and the position of the United States on Africa determines that they will not care about Africa in the future, let alone get any benefits from Africa. They will leave Africa out of the question, and Africa will no longer trust them.
U.S. plans to expand its influence in Africa.
In recent years, the United States has tried to expand its influence in Africa. Blinken made this point clear during his trip to four African countries. This is undoubtedly in response to China's influence on Africa. The contradictions between China and the United States are escalating, and the conflicts in Africa are becoming increasingly intense. In Biden**'s 2022 Annual National Defense Strategy Report, the game of geographic relations with China has become a major foreign policy of the United States. From the point of view of the United States, the diplomatic contest with China will be a major battle in the economic, technological, and other fields of equal importance. If the United States wants to gain the upper hand in this game, it must concentrate on expanding in Africa.
It is clear that the United States is expanding its sphere of influence where its diplomatic power is weaker. These regions include Pacific island countries, Southeast Asian countries, and African countries. The choice of this strategy is meaningful. First of all, the Pacific islands, which are located as hubs of maritime communications, are of great importance to the US military strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. Second, Southeast Asia is the fastest-growing and promising region in the world. Strengthening ties with Southeast Asia is key to America's countering China's influence. Africa is a continent full of potential and opportunities, and it is a place that all countries aspire to. Although Africa is generally slow to develop, it is being contested by many countries around the world due to its vast natural resources and huge consumer demand. The United States wants to maintain its competitiveness in the region and increase its focus and influence on Africa.
The reason why the United States and China are vying for this key position in Africa is also because of the strategic needs of the United States itself. As a major partner of African countries, China has made long-term investment and development in Africa, which has posed a severe test to the influence of the United States in the region. The United States must do something to sustain or extend its influence. The United States' concern is not limited to its political and economic interests, but involves many other issues, such as: The military and Africa have extremely important geopolitical and numerous shipping routes, which are the key to maintaining the international military strategy of the United States. Moreover, political instability in Africa poses a danger to the security of the United States. The reason why the United States has strengthened its influence on Africa is to protect its regional rights and interests, and it is also to realize its geostrategy.
The struggle between the United States and Africa.
The United States continues to expand its influence in Africa, not just as a competition for China, but also as for its own interests in Africa and its strategic needs. However, cooperation between the United States and Africa has also encountered certain difficulties and challenges. First, the U.S. influence in Africa is relatively weak, while major powers like China and Russia have a growing influence in the region. China has extensive ties with Africa, and is Africa's largest partner and a major investment channel for African countries. Russia maintains close relations with African countries, including arms and security cooperation. In stark contrast, the United States does not pay enough attention to Africa in areas such as investment,** and cooperation. Second, Africa is seen by the United States as a target for resource extraction, not as a key partner, and as such, it pays little attention to Africa's geopolitics. Such a perception would certainly make America's influence in Africa much less significant.
Through the above comparison, we can see that the current measures taken by the United States to attract Africa are not from the perspective of its own development, but more aimed at attacking China and Russia. While the United States has adopted certain strategic means to gain some influence, its indifference to Africa and its interest in other regions make its real threat small. China and Russia are Africa's most important partners, and both sides have provided more assistance to Africa in terms of economy and security. As a result, Africa is unlikely to trust the United States and will not continue its partnership with China and Russia. In the game between China, the United States, and Russia, African countries must make their own decisions, but the influence of the United States is limited.