Biden aims to narrow trust gap with US-Africa leaders' summit; amid growing China, Russia influence
USA TodayJUL 2022
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Though Washington pretends that it wants to close the growing trust gap between the US and Africa, the Biden admin. still sees Africa merely as a pawn in its strategic goal of competing with China. However, African leaders have long known that the US isn't concerned with cooperation for mutual benefit, but solely with its own interests. Beyond the bluster, Africa is unlikely to sustainably benefit from the summit.
Pro-establishment narrative
After the 2014 US-Africa summit, which failed to produce any meaningful policy change, Washington is looking this time to finally treat Africa as a partner rather than a problem. It's the US that increasingly depends on a growing Africa, not the other way around, which is why Biden's summit will include dialogues surrounding current and future leadership in the spheres of economics, sustainability, and governance.