Blinken starts Africa trip, ‘unable to form anti-Russia, China circle’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in South Africa on Sunday, beginning his trip to Africa that is widely described by the US media outlets as a renewed effort to bring back allies and a revival of Cold War-style politics. Although in an attempt to counter the influence of China and Russia, the US is unable to form a new club to achieve its goal of containing the two countries, considering the significant cooperation between China and Africa and Russia’s deep engagement with the region, analysts said.

Besides, African countries like South Africa, which still have fresh memories of the Cold War and focus more on their domestic issues like economic recovery, are expected to adopt a more balanced and pragmatic stance by avoiding taking a side between major powers, they noted.

Blinken is expected to deliver a speech on Monday on US strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa. This is the second visit of the top US diplomat to the region following his trip to Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal in November 2021.

Blinken’s trip comes on the heels of that of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip to the region, who just wrapped up a visit to Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of Congo. “We’re back to Cold War-style strategic diplomacy,” in which superpowers try to convince African countries that their narrative is the right one, and vie for their support, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Although South Africa has close ties with Western countries like the US and the UK, it is unrealistic to expect the African country to become a new part of the US-led West’s “friends circle” to counter China, Huang Lizhi, lecturer from School of African Studies with the Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

“South Africa has multi-dimensions in its identity. It has a long history of engaging with the US and the UK, leaving positive or negative legacies. At the same time, the country is also one of the major emerging countries, keeping active interaction with China and being an important part of BRICS,” Huang said.

On whether South Africa would face any political pressure over its close partnership with China and Russia, Siyabonga Cwele, Ambassador of South Africa to China, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview in June that South Africa pursues an independent foreign policy.

In response to some media reports which speculated whether African countries, such as South Africa, will “condemn” Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, some Chinese experts said rather than taking sides between major powers, African countries care much more about solving their own problems.