China criticizes West on Africa

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/26eb49fe-0414-11dc-a931-000b5df10621.html

Pot calling the kettle black! I seem to recall Ghana whining that China wasn’t following through on its promises a few years ago, though perhaps my memory is fuzzy.

Regardless, the move is disturbing. China has been effectively encircled by powerful states in Asia, and it’s best ally is Myanmar. However, Africa and its rich mineral wealth, a longtime battleground between the Great Powers of the world, is still up for grabs, and not very friendly to Western intervention.

My take is that China is being a little harsher on us than they might otherwise be, and is currently trying to further relations and make economic inroads into the continent. The US has been making economic inroads as well, in addition to geopolitical moves on the Horn and strengthening militaries in North Africa. In a few years, we’ll also have a new aircraft carrier and the ability to rapidly transport a small number of F-22s (that would be able to do a LOT of damage) and our African command center, which is a recent addition, will be fully experienced and likely possess its own special operations forces.
So, we’re both playing strong for Africa. The difference is that we have force projection coming soon, and they do not. So, China is going to have to play a LOT tougher than us to make friends in Africa, and they’re going to have to start very soon.