Africa Is the New Front in the U.S.-China Influence War

Facing increased competition for influence from China, the Trump administration unveiled a new strategy for Africa focused on commercial ties, counterterrorism, and better-targeted U.S. foreign aid. But it may be too little, too late.

In a wide-ranging speech Thursday at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., John Bolton, President Trump’s national-security adviser, explicitly warned that the ultimate goal of Beijing’s “predatory” influence over Africa was to advance China’s global dominance. This, he said, would leave the continent in far worse shape.

Beijing spends in Africa than other countries do—and with far fewer. This absence of regulatory or political certainty deters other potential investors, including the U.S.