In a few days, US president Joe Biden will visit Angola. When it was first announced, the trip stirred up excitement as one that would help define Biden’s legacy.
The trip was announced during Biden’s failed bid to run for a second term before he dropped out of the presidential race in favour of his deputy, Kamala Harris.
Had Harris won against Donald Trump, Biden’s trip to Angola would have assumed a higher profile and significance. Trump’s decisive victory has now overshadowed the working visit.
It now seems too little too late by a rejected leader and administration. Its strategic significance has diminished.
Though Biden, who came to power in the Covid-19 pandemic, hosted several summits with African presidents, he never travelled to the continent during the first three years of his four-year term as president.
Instead of being seen as aimed at shoring up strategic relations between the US and Angola, it will be seen more as Washington’s response to the growing Chinese influence in Africa.
As well as overtaking the US as Africa’s main trading partner, China has stolen the march on the investment front. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multibillion-dollar infrastructure investment project across three continents, China has pumped in billions in loans and investments across Africa.
During Trump’s first term — between 2016 and 2020 — the US largely focused on domestic issues, started trade and currency wars with China and focused on bilateral relations with key US partners. Africa was scarcely a priority, and he made no secret of his disdain for the continent.
Recently, the US did play catch-up. It is part of an international consortium behind the Lobito Corridor, an ambitious freight logistics project involving Angola and Zambia. This project, which is scalable, will be at the centre of Biden’s visit.
Africa’s poor infrastructure has held up the continent’s economic development. Which explains why China and the West have prioritised infrastructure investment.
A robust infrastructure will bolster intra-Africa trade and the extraction of the continent’s raw materials, especially minerals that are critical to the transition towards clean energy.
Biden will be the next US president to visit Africa after Barack Obama in 2013. But he will not be the last. Trump, who takes over from Biden in 2025, is expected to visit SA next year to attend the G20 summit, which will be hosted by SA, the group’s incoming presidency.
Trump’s clear win has strengthened his hand to carry out his agenda or, as he prefers to put it, “promises made are promises kept” under his administration.
He has already signalled his foreign policy agenda. It will be anchored on his America First doctrine.
Even as he prepares to take office, he has set his sights on continuing the work he started during his first term. On Monday, he threatened to hike tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, the US’s arch-competitor.
Still, none of this posture makes Africa irrelevant.
Washington will ignore the continent at its own peril. From a geopolitical perspective, Africa is significant for global trade routes. Its mineral wealth and youthful population make it even more attractive.
But Africa will have to be strategic. It is owed nothing by the West, China or Russia even.
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