The United States and China: Strategic Rivalry in Africa

This commentary underscores the strategic rivalry taking place in Africa between the United States and China, sparked by the latter's massive political, economic, and socio-cultural engagement with the continent. It argues that the reasons for the ongoing rivalry between the two is related to their clashing worldviews, and their focus on accessing Africa's energy/oil and other strategic natural resources. The strategies both global superpowers are utilizing have the effect of diluting each other's influence on the continent. Their rivalry has progressed from mild, to moderate, to intense, with both powers increasing their activities on the continent and decreasing Africa's erstwhile marginalization.