Blinken Unveils Strategy for Africa: Flatters Ruling Elite, Ignores China Threat

Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a speech Monday at the University of Pretoria in South Africa in which he purported to outline the Biden administration’s new strategy toward Africa — though he simply recycled old platitudes.

Blinken began with a series of well-worn clichés about South Africa’s transition to apartheid — nearly 30 years ago — and completely ignored the country’s current challenges: crime, corruption, chronic electricity shortages, and economic stagnation.

The Secretary of State then outlined four priorities in America’s relationship with the African continent: “openness,” “the promise of democracy”; recovery from COVID; and helping with  “clean energy transition” to deal with climate change.

Blinken did not mention that South Africa suffers today from a lack of electricity, and is being encouraged to ignore its abundant coal resources in favor of renewable energy projects that are ostensibly to be financed by overseas donor nations.

At times, it seemed that his speech could have been written in the early years of President Bill Clinton’s administration — as if Africa needed to be reassured that it was in charge of its own destiny, and congratulated on its future plans or minor successes.

Blinken’s speech ignored the threat that China poses to U.S. interests and to the freedom and sovereignty of African nations as it expands its influence on the continent. He only mentioned China in a positive way, as a partner in debt relief arrangements.

China today funds much of Africa’s new infrastructure, often demanding absurd repayment terms and holding key strategic assets as collateral. It has also been accused of interfering in the internal politics of African countries, including South Africa.

Blinken spent more time outlining the ostensible threat from Russia and its efforts to influence public opinion in Africa. He mentioned the Wagner Group, a private military company that has been active in Ukraine and on the African continent.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.