A diplomatic row may be erupting surrounding the debate about Hillary Clinton's speeches on her latest tour of the continent. Is she being condescending? Is the US incorrectly portraying themselves and China? Does she have a point?
The latest on this is an article from Charles Kenny in Bloomberg Business was published today, entitled Why Cheap-Shot Diplomacy in Africa Won't Work. This is by no means the only coverage of the issue, however. The UK's Guardian Poverty Matters Blog has a post with the bold title, Hillary Clinton's morally superior speech in Africa was deluded. Chinese media sources have also come out with several statements (here, here, and on the FOCAC website) in retaliation to what has been perceives as veiled jibes against their involvement on the continent. Equally, there is an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled, Don't let Africa fall to China, to which our own blogger, Victoria Schorr, recently commented on through The China in Africa Project's Facebook page (see August 6th).
This is just the latest in seemingly cold-war-revivalist discussions on China's role in the continent. Only time will tell how this will play out diplomatically and on which side African citizens will fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment