The United States is pursuing a new strategy in its "trade war" with China, which is acquiring a global "investment" character and heading towards a new arena, Africa's "continent of the future."
John Bolton, the US national security adviser, will announce on Thursday the new strategy focusing on Africa, described by the Donald Trump administration as "the continent of the future."
In an address to Congress on Wednesday, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Naji warned of China's economic, military and political impact in Africa, which has some of the fastest growing economies in the world and billions of dollars in natural resources.
Naji expressed concern about the large investments made by China on the continent, pointing out that African countries will benefit from increased investments of US companies and projects there, which will create jobs that raise the standards of the environment and work.
"We must remain a positive alternative, and make it clear that working with the United States means greater prosperity and security for Africa," the Associated Press news agency reported.
"The continent is facing a population tsunami," he said. "By 2050, the population will double to 2.5 billion people, half of them under the age of 24," he said, referring to the importance of investing there to create jobs.
Despite these investment-stimulating statements, China's competition in this area will not be easy at all, said Johnnie Carson, former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, who served in the administration of former President Barack Obama.
"The Trump administration has shown little or no interest in the African continent and has had a bad start on this," he said, referring to previous remarks by Trump that "insulted" African countries.
Carson stressed that it is essential for Trump to show more seriousness in dealing with African countries if it is to succeed in its strategy.
Congress had initiated a law early this year to create a $ 60 billion agency for international development, a move observers said was a response to China's development programs around the world.
A former Obama administration official said Beijing has recently doubled its investments in Africa through a trade strategy, an increase in arms sales, its association with some political parties there, as well as cultural exchanges with a number of African countries.
Despite new attempts to move to the continent, many observers believe that the task will not be easy, as it suddenly appeared at a late stage in the presidency of Trump, and because Trump himself showed no interest in the continent, and has already made insulting statements about countries African conflict.
The Washington Post reported last January that Trump was violently biased at a White House meeting on immigration to African and Haitian countries, calling it "dirty cockroach."
