China Courting African Leaders While Trying to Quiet ‘Alarm’ Over Indebtedness to Beijing

China Courting African Leaders While Trying to Quiet ‘Alarm’ Over Indebtedness to Beijing
China's Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang arrives at the Leon Mba International Airport in Libreville, Gabon, on Jan. 11, 2023. Steeve Jordan/ AFP via Getty Images
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A recent visit to Africa by China’s newly-appointed foreign minister, Qin Gang, has restoked fears of the Chinese Communist Party moving to supplant the United States as a principal foreign partner on the continent.

Qin’s five-nation Africa tour (Ethiopia, Angola, Benin, Gabon, and Egypt) from Jan. 9–16 came less than two weeks after his appointment.