What are Africa's economic needs amid rising competition between China and the West?

Spotlight on Africa

Following a month filled with key summits and continued trade negotiations across Africa, this week's edition of Spotlight on Africa examines the growing rivalry between China and Western nations as they vie for business opportunities on the continent.

This week, our focus shifts to the dynamics of Chinese-African-Western relations.

In September, as the United States pursued investments in nuclear energy projects in Ghana and Kenya, the China-Africa forum concluded with a series of new agreements between China and a number of African countries. These deals spanned key sectors, including industry, agriculture, natural resources, and renewable energy.

China’s new strategy in Africa: is the continent getting a fair deal?

Chinese President Xi Jinping also announced that Beijing will allocate $50 billion (€45 billion euros) to Africa over the next three years.

However, China's overall investments in the continent have declined over the past year, creating an opening for both the US and Europe, who are both eager to re-establish their economic presence in Africa.

Russia has also entered the picture.

But what does Africa realy need?

To explore this, Jan van der Made and Melissa Chemam spoke with experts, including historians Daniel Large and Michael Dillon, as well as Igor Ichikovitz from the Ichikowitz Family Foundation.

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Episode mixed by Erwan Rome

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale