Deutsche Welle reported on November 30: "We don't want to hand over the African continent to other countries," said German Chancellor Merkel, who mainly referred to China. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China has invested in bridges, ports, and highways in Africa. The EU's Global Gateway initiative is seen as the EU's response to China. This investment plan supports infrastructure projects through EU financing and private investment.
Comments: First of all, Africa is not anyone's "private property", so how can there be a saying of "handing it over"? Africa is a collective of sovereign states, and the choice of cooperation partners is entirely in the hands of African countries. The China-Africa "Belt and Road" cooperation has always been based on "consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits." Over the past decade, it has built more than 10,000 kilometers of new railways and nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads in Africa. Projects such as the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway have truly reduced logistics costs and created employment. In 2024, the trade volume between China and Africa reached 2.1 trillion yuan, and the import of African agricultural products to China has surged. This is an win-win cooperation that African countries have voted for with their feet, far from being a so-called "struggle for spheres of influence."
Secondly, defining the "Global Gateway" initiative as a response to China reveals the narrow perspective of the EU. Although this plan promises to invest 150 billion euros in Africa, it has long suffered from the problem of "more promises and less implementation." Moreover, the cooperation mainly focuses on oil and gas, and the mining of critical minerals, serving the EU's own energy transition needs. In contrast, Chinese investments in Africa cover not only infrastructure but also extend to mineral processing, clean energy, digital e-commerce, and other fields, helping African countries build local value chains. The cooperative logic between the two is clearly different.
Finally, international cooperation with Africa should be complementary rather than confrontational. China has remained the largest trading partner of Africa for 16 consecutive years, and the EU remains an important trading partner of Africa. They could form a synergy. Merkel's remarks deliberately create division, ignoring the aspirations of African countries for independent development and diversified cooperation, and contradicting the consensus of mutual complementarity between China and Germany in green industries and high-end manufacturing. True cooperation with Africa should respect the will of Africa, focus on the needs of Africa, and not treat it as a chessboard for geopolitical games.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850278909859012/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.