US is losing its 'soft power' edge to China in Africa - poll

Jenna Moon
·2 min read
7
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Washington’s influence on the African continent is waning — and it is being edged out by Beijing, new polling from Gallup shows.

The US and China are racing to establish dominance on the African continent, a rivalry “centered on many geopolitical issues, including a race to secure access to precious minerals and disputes over debt relief,” the Gallup report noted.

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Approval ratings of the US have sunk in African nations in recent years, the data shows, and people are instead turning their attention towards China, which has pledged myriad investments to African countries through its Belt and Road Initiative and other private investments.

China last year saw its highest approval rating on the African continent in decades, Gallup wrote, most notably in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal. The US, meanwhile, saw its approval rating sink by 3% in 2023.

Washington’s approval sank by 29% in Uganda, which was blocked from receiving benefits from Washington’s African Growth and Opportunity Act following its enactment of a harsh anti-LGBTQ law last year. Its approval also slumped in the Gambia and Kenya, Gallup noted.

But it is Russia that has perhaps seen the sharpest shift in views from Africans, according to Gallup. Moscow’s approval amongst many African countries slumped following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but there are signs that attitudes towards Russia are becoming more positive: Moscow’s approval is now at 42%, up from 34% in 2022, and the highest level since 2012.

Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization with government backing, has operated in Mali and the Central African Republic for several years now, gaining a foothold in both nations amid rising anti-France sentiment against the former colonial power. Moscow, through Wagner, has expanded its political footprint in Africa, using its influence for access to minerals and other natural resources.

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Notable

  • The IMF argued last year that sub-Saharan Africa has the most to lose “if the world were split into two isolated trading blocs centered around China or the United States,” African Business reported.

  • China’s manufacturing overcapacity has given it an edge over the US in Africa when it comes to solar and other green energy infrastructure, Semafor’s Martin K.N Siele reported.

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