A recent report about Niger kicking out Chinese company managers that didn’t comply with the country’s rules led many on X to denounce China. However, their posts looked like word-for-word copies, leading West Africa history buff Tommy Miles (@tommymiles on X) to conclude these accounts were part of a coordinated US digital campaign to discredit China in Africa.
China’s rapid economic rise since it began allowing foreign investment in 1978 has challenged Western dominance, particularly in Africa, where Chinese loans and investments have made significant strides in building infrastructure over the past 25 years.
In response, the US intensified efforts to counter China’s influence, with the US Congress allocating $1.6 billion to anti-China propaganda efforts through a law titled ‘Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act of 2023.’ The US has also pushed anti-China messaging through outlets like AFRICOM’s Africa Defense Forum and the recently dismantled Voice of America. Meanwhile, the US does not similarly scrutinise other Western powers’ exploitation of Africa.
Our reporter, William Sakawa (nehemiahsakawa on IG), breaks it down.
Sources
Bot farm
https://x.com/tommymiles/status/1900589340314525916?t=7TZtvl7N9FqL2uo_SC80hA
Roads and rail
https://africa.cgtn.com/chinese-fm-no-global-modernization-without-african-modernization
IMF alternative
https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/why-it-may-be-good-thing-chinese-lending-reducing-clout-imf
Anti-China propaganda bill
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-bill-could-turn-heat-093000927.html
Zimbabwe accuses US of anti-China propaganda
https://www.herald.co.zw/us-plan-to-discredit-chinese-investments-unmasked/
AFRICOM magazine
https://adf-magazine.com/?s=China
How France sabotaged Africa’s development
China as West alternative
https://www.jri.co.jp/english/periodical/rim/1999/RIMe199904threereforms
Pivot to Asia
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-american-pivot-to-asia