This week, top American policymakers, think tanks, and business leaders are engaging in a series of high-level meetings aimed at redefining Washington’s strategy toward Africa, underscoring concerns that Beijing is fast outpacing the US in influence and investment across the continent.
On Tuesday, October 7, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee will convene a hearing pointedly titled “Combatting the People’s Republic of China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific.”
Although centered on Asia, the discussions are expected to extend to Africa’s eastern coast, where China’s footprint is expanding rapidly. From Djibouti to Madagascar, Beijing’s investments in ports, energy, and logistics have strengthened its maritime dominance — and Washington is worried.
“China has been a major investor in infrastructure and energy projects, funding and operating ports all along the coast,” the committee noted, highlighting that China’s first-ever overseas naval base, established in Djibouti in 2017, remains a strategic point of concern.
According to the Africa Report, nearly a quarter of African nations, including major economies such as Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa, share coastlines with the Indian Ocean. The US views this corridor as critical not only for trade but also for regional security, especially with two major maritime chokepoints, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Mozambique Channel, under increasing scrutiny by China.
The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) will hold its 2026 US-Africa Business Summit in Mauritius, the first time the event will be hosted on an Indian Ocean island nation.
Interestingly, Mauritius is one of the few African countries not signed onto Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Beyond the Indian Ocean, attention will also turn to Africa’s mineral wealth. On Wednesday, October 8, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and West Point’s Centre for the Study of Civil-Military Operations will host the second annual Critical Minerals and National Security Conference.
A key session titled “A new era of minerals diplomacy” will feature Tom Haslett, director of Critical Minerals and Energy Policy at the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), who will outline how Washington plans to compete with Beijing’s grip on Africa’s mineral resources, particularly in cobalt, lithium, and copper sectors across Central and Southern Africa.
Source: Africabusinessinsider