Washington, Dec 4: Joe Biden on Tuesday was using the first visit to Angola by a US president to promote Washington’s investments in the sub-Saharan African nation and see a slavery museum, where he’ll acknowledge the trafficking of humans that once linked the nations’ economies.āThe United States is all in on Africa,” Biden told Angolan President Joao Lourenco, who called Biden’s visit a key turning point in US-Angola relations dating back to the Cold War.
But even as the visit was meant to counter China’s influence on the African continent of over 1.4 billion people by showcasing a US commitment of USD 3 billion for the Lobito Corridor railway redevelopment linking Zambia, Congo and Angola, China announced its own move.
The corridor is meant to make it easier to move raw materials for export and advance the US presence in a region rich in critical minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices and clean energy technologies.
China already has heavy investments in mining and processing African minerals, and on Tuesday it announced it is banning exports to the United States of gallium, germanium, antimony and other high-tech materials.
The announcement came a day after the US expanded its list of Chinese technology companies subject to controls.
The US for years has built relations in Africa through trade, security and humanitarian aid. The 1,300-kilometre railway upgrade is different, with shades of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure strategy in Africa and other parts of the world.