Biden gathering with 50 African leaders in first such summit in eight years

Then-President Obama attends at the 2014 U.S. Africa Leaders summit in Washington, D.C. President Biden is hosting nearly 50 African leaders this week in an effort to show “renewed commitment” to a continent routinely neglected by the West, one that has been battered by coups and wars, poverty and the pandemic, but that also has seen vast Chinese investment in numerous nations. The goal now is “first and foremost making sure that whatever comes out of this summit is going to stay here for the long run.” To that end, the White House on Monday announced a $55-billion commitment to Africa over the next three years across various sectors and the appointment of a special envoy, 79-year-old retired veteran diplomat Johnnie Carson, to oversee continued action coming out of summit agreements. “The Biden administration is approaching this second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit with a trust deficit that it must overcome if it hopes to truly give life to a new era of ‘partnership,’” Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Cameron Hudson, a research associate, said in an analysis produced for the think tank. “The Biden administration recognizes that there’s a lot to do with our partners in Africa, and when we invest ourselves more, that will begin to address the dominance of China in the African market.” In the last two decades, an aggressive China has made enormous inroads on the African continent as part of its $4.3-trillion Belt and Road campaign, building roads, ports and other infrastructure, alongside investing in mining and other extractive industries, and even snapping up banks.