Donald Trump has never thought very highly of Africa, famously referring to the continent as a place of "sh**hole countries." While there's no indication that sentiment has changed, he's recognized that African resources are essential if he wants the U.S. to decouple from Chinese dominanted critical mineral supply chains.
In February, the administration unveiled an ambitious new critical minerals sourcing initiative in which African countries, in particular, play an outsized role. But the Chinese have a 20+ year head start sourcing and refining these minerals and metals, so displacing them is not going to be easy.
For some perspective on this burgeoning U.S.-China rivalry, Eric & Géraud are joined by two of the top editors at the online news site Semafor. Yinka Adegoke is Semafor's Africa Editor, and Andy Browne is the outlet's Managing Editor, who will oversee Semafor's new China newsletter.
📌 Topics covered in this episode:
- The intensifying U.S.-China rivalry across Africa
- China's expanding role in Congolese cobalt and critical minerals
- Xi Jinping's duty-free access offer to 53 African countries
- Mining versus refining and why processing capacity is the real bottleneck
- U.S. efforts to counter China through critical minerals partnerships
- Trade imbalances and the limits of African industrialization
- Debates in Washington over corruption and China's business practices
- Governance in the DRC and the deeper roots of regional instability
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