Where Can the US, China, and Governments of Africa Work Together?

Where can US, Chinese, and African governments work together? This is the question asked (and answered) by Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Princeton N. Lyman, Jianhua Zhong, and John Goodman in their recent Foreign Affairs article.

Though aware of the potential for distrust and disagreement to limit cooperation, the authors nonetheless suggest that the US, China, and African governments should work to build “habits of cooperation” on areas of agreement, such as in peacebuilding, maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, and efforts to address the causes and consequences of violent extremism in Africa’s Sahel and Sahara regions.

They conclude with a timely call for cooperation and collaboration in the face of growing instability and isolationism. “On both sides of the Pacific, powerful forces are calling into question the China–U.S. entente of the last 40 years. In Africa, a few may gain from playing on such tensions. But most Africans, most Chinese, and most Americans will benefit far more from working together”.

You can read their article in full on the Foreign Affairs website here.