US Plans to Challenge China on Multiple Fronts in Africa, Says Trump Official

He said the Trump administration is transforming America’s strategy on a continent that’s key to human progress.

A worker tries to get on a scaffold to install decorations promoting the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on Oct. 27, 2006. China Photos/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The United States will focus on “investment-led and trade-driven growth” to stifle China’s malign influence in Africa and to fight Beijing’s attempts at global hegemony, according to Washington’s most senior official for African Affairs.

In testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy on Wednesday, Troy Fitrell said the U.S. government under President Donald Trump will counter Beijing’s “predatory and destabilizing” behavior with “credible, reliable, and fair alternatives” aimed at benefiting Africans and Americans.