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| Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hand with traditional dancers upon his arrival at Julius Nyerere International airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, March 24, 2013. |
Voice of America
Nairobi — One of the goals of U.S. President
Barack Obama's upcoming tour of Africa is to promote U.S. business
interests across a continent now dominated by China. The competition
between the economic giants is playing out in Tanzania, the last stop on
Obama's tour.
While in Tanzania's economic hub, Dar es Salaam, the president is due
to meet Monday with American and African business leaders to find ways
to get U.S. companies a foothold in African markets.
U.S. companies have been trailing behind China in African investment,
and China recently overtook the United States as Africa's largest
trading partner.
Even Obama's visit to Tanzania follows in the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to the East African country in March.
Falling behind
The director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council in
Washington, J. Peter Pham, said the United States has some catching up
to do.
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| U.S. President Barack Obama |
"China is well ahead not because it necessarily offers the best deal,
but rather because it often offers the only deal," said Pham. "American
businesses, by and large, have not - with the exception of those
involved in resource extraction - have not really fully discovered the
potential in the African market."
Pham said the United States also has failed to sustain some of the
previous investments it has made in Africa, allowing China to get the
upper-hand.
Take Tanzania as an example. In 2008, under former U.S. President
George W. Bush, the U.S.-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a
nearly $700-million compact with Tanzania to improve roads and other
infrastructure in the country.
It is the most funding the aid agency has ever awarded. But much of
that money is going, more or less directly, to Chinese companies who
have won construction contracts to implement the projects.
Chinese face time
So not only do Chinese firms benefit from the work, but Tanzanian
citizens see Chinese construction crews building roads and laying pipes.
Pham says hiring Chinese firms to do American-financed work is, in a way, self-defeating for U.S. interests.
"If the purpose of foreign assistance is to win hearts and minds -
ordinary people do not look into the fine print of who finances what,
they see who does what," he said.
The United States has downplayed any concerns about China's growth in Africa or that they are in direct competition.
"There is a lot of, I think, angst [worry] about things that change
in trade relationships and when relationships change and new players
come in. But I do not think there is a lot to be too concerned or upset
about the rise of China," said South Africa-based U.S. Senior Commercial
Officer Larry Farris.
Farris added that development, no matter who is behind it, is good for Africans.
Mercenary approach
China and the United States also have a markedly different approach to African aid and investment.
When Xi visited Tanzania in March he emphasized that his country
would always offer assistance with no political strings attached.
American assistance, though, often is tied to political or economic reforms.
University of Nairobi political science chair Adams Oloo said the
United States has a tricky task in balancing its ideals with its
business interests.
"While China on the other hand is like, 'I will do business with
anybody, what goes on inside that country is none of my business.' And I
think that is quite a challenge for the West, how to counter China and
the East while at the same time holding the values that they want to see
implemented in East African countries," said Oloo.
This trip is Obama's second visit to Africa since he visited Ghana
during his first term in office in 2009, during which time he spent less
than 24 hours on the continent.
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