Biden tells African leaders US is ‘all in’ on the continent

AP | US President Joe Biden told dozens of African leaders gathered in Washington that the United States is “all in on Africa’s future,” laying out billions in promised government funding and private investment Wednesday to help the growing continent in health, infrastructure, business, and technology.

“The U.S. is committed to supporting every aspect of Africa’s growth,” Biden told the leaders and others in a big conference hall, presenting his vision at the 3-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit of how the U.S. can be a critical catalyst.

Biden, who is pitching the U.S. as a reliable partner to promote democratic elections and push critical health and energy growth, told the crowd the US$55 billion in committed investments over the next 3 years – announced on Monday – was “just the beginning.”

He announced more than US$15 billion in private trade and investment commitments and partnerships.

“There’s so much more we can do together and that we will do together,” Biden said.

The United States has fallen well behind China in investment in sub-Saharan Africa, which has become a key battleground in an increasingly fraught competition between the major powers. The White House insists this week’s gathering is more a listening session with African leaders than an effort to counter Beijing’s influence, but the president’s central foreign policy tenet looms over all: America is in an era-defining battle to prove democracies can out-deliver autocracies.

That message was clear in Wednesday’s events. In his speech, Biden spoke of how the U.S. would help in modernizing technology across the continent, providing clean energy, moving women’s equality forward through business opportunities, bringing clean drinking water to communities, and better funding health care. US First lady Jill Biden’s office also laid out US$300 million for cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and research in Africa.

On Wednesday Biden also held a smaller meeting at the White House with the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Gabon, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Thursday is to be dedicated to high-level discussions among leaders; Biden will open the day with a session on partnering with the African Union’s strategic vision for the continent.

The summit is the largest international gathering in Washington since before the start of the pandemic.

Many leaders of the continent’s 54 nations often feel they’ve been given short shrift by leading economies. But the continent remains crucial to global powers because of its rapidly growing population, significant natural resources, and sizable voting bloc in the United Nations. Africa also remains of great strategic importance as the U.S. recalibrates its foreign policy with a greater focus on China – the nation the Biden administration sees as the United States’ most significant economic and military adversary.

Biden made no mention of China in his remarks, and White House officials rejected the notion that the summit was in part about countering China’s influence.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration is “refusing to put a gun” to Africa’s head and make it choose between U.S. and China. At the same time, he said “there’s nothing inconsistent about calling a fact a fact and shedding light on what is increasingly obvious to our African partners about China’s malign influence on the continent.”

Still, the summit-related activity got a rise out of China. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the U.S. should “respect the will of the African people and take concrete actions to help Africa’s development, instead of unremittingly smearing and attacking other countries.”

Wang said at a briefing Wednesday that it is the “common responsibility of the international community to support Africa’s development.” But he added: “Africa is not an arena for great power confrontation or a target for arbitrary pressure by certain countries or individuals.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame also bristled at the idea of his country and others on the continent getting caught between the U.S. and China. “I don’t think we need to be bullied into making choices between U.S. and China,” Kagame said during an event on the summit’s sideline hosted by the news organization Semafor.

Biden has promised U.S. support for a permanent Group of 20 seat for the African Union, and the appointment of a special representative to implement summit commitments.