LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) 鈥 When Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she touched down at an airport that鈥檚 doubled in size and features glittering new terminals.
Rather than a symbol of promising local development, it鈥檚 a reminder of China鈥檚 deep influence. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a that's rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens.
The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris鈥 journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania.
Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with . Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the Chinese Communist Party.
The developments , and President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration is worried that Africa is slipping further into Beijing鈥檚 sphere of influence.
Harris has played down the issue on her trip, preferring to focus on building partnerships independent of geopolitical competition. However, she has acknowledged there鈥檚 limited time for the U.S. to make inroads on the continent, telling reporters earlier in the trip that there is a 鈥渨indow鈥 that is 鈥渄efinitely open now鈥 for American investments.
At a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Friday, Harris reiterated her call for 鈥渁ll bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia鈥 鈥 an oblique reference to China 鈥 but she stressed that 鈥渙ur presence here is not about China.鈥
Hichilema said it would be 鈥渃ompletely wrong鈥 to view Zambia鈥檚 interests in terms of a rivalry between the U.S. and China.
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 in Washington, I鈥檓 not against Beijing. When I鈥檓 in Beijing, I鈥檓 not against Washington,鈥 he said, adding that 鈥渘one of these relationships are about working against someone or a group of countries."
China鈥檚 roots in both Tanzania and Zambia run deep. In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzania鈥檚 Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.
Today, China is Africa鈥檚 largest two-way trading partner, with $254 billion of business in 2021, according to . That鈥檚 four times the amount of trade between the U.S. and Africa. In addition, dealing with Beijing features than with Washington.
鈥淢ost African countries are rightly unapologetic about their close ties to China,鈥 Nigeria鈥檚 vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, tweeted on Thursday. 鈥淐hina shows up where and when the West will not and/or are reluctant.鈥
Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has worked on Africa issues in Congress, expressed frustration over China鈥檚 growing influence on the continent.
鈥淲e switched from being the No. 1 trade partner or the No. 1 investment partner in two dozen countries, to China being the No. 1 trade and investment partner,鈥 he told reporters aboard Air Force Two on the flight to Ghana at the beginning of Harris鈥 trip. 鈥淚 think our challenge for this decade is to address that.鈥
Biden has been taking steps toward that, such as hosting a summit for African leaders in December, when he announced that to the continent in the coming years.
Harris has made announcements as well during her trip, including more than $1 billion in public and private money for economic development, $100 million for security assistance in West Africa and $500 million to facilitate trade with Tanzania.
However, there鈥檚 skepticism about whether the U.S. will follow through on its promises, and Harris has been faced with not-so-subtle hints that Africa expects more. For example, the presidents of Ghana and Tanzania bluntly said they hope Biden chooses to visit their countries during his expected trip to Africa later this year, which would be his first to the continent as president.
By comparison, Tanzania was among the first countries that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited after becoming president in 2013. And after Xi secured a third term, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was the first African head of state to visit Beijing.
鈥淜amala faces Chinese dominance in Tanzania,鈥 the Tanzania Business Insight publication tweeted Wednesday.
Ian Johnson, a former China-based journalist who works at the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, said Beijing presents a powerful narrative in the developing world as a country that rapidly built its economy and pulled much of its population out of poverty.
African leaders think 鈥渓et鈥檚 see what we can learn from China,鈥 he said, adding that 鈥渢here鈥檚 a certain fascination in how they did it.鈥
Johnson also said China views Africa differently than the U.S.
鈥淲e have a tendency to see Africa as a series of problems 鈥 wars, famines, something like that,鈥 he said. "But in China鈥檚 eyes, Africa is much more of an opportunity.鈥
Edem Selormey, who conducts public opinion research at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, said the feeling is often mutual.
鈥淐hina鈥檚 influence in Africa is largely seen as positive,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd the U.S. trails China in that regard.鈥
The difference, she said, is often about 鈥渨hat citizens see on the ground,鈥 such as infrastructure projects, and 鈥渢he U.S. has been missing from this picture for a while.鈥
John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said the debt that comes from China鈥檚 involvement is ultimately corrosive. He said African leaders are 鈥渂eginning to realize that China is not really their friend.鈥
鈥淐hina鈥檚 interests in the region are purely selfish, as opposed to the United States,鈥 he said.
It鈥檚 a sentiment that draws scoffs in some corners of Africa.
鈥淎merica is like playing the role of a big Uncle Sam in trying to defend African countries against what they think is the encroachment of China into the liberty of African countries through these loans,鈥 said Tanzania-based analyst Mohamed Issa Hemed.
However, he added, 鈥淐hina is ahead of the U.S. in many, many ways."
Daniel Russel, a former State Department official who is now at the Asia Society Policy Institute, summed up the African perspective as 鈥渆nough with the lectures鈥 about China. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got something we want. And they鈥檝e got it right here.鈥
When it comes to U.S. hopes for Africa, he said, 鈥漼ou can鈥檛 beat something with nothing.鈥
___ Anna reported from Nairobi, Kenya, and Meldrum from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.
