Link to Article: https://apnews.com/article/china-africa-gambia-malawi-taiwan-diplomacy-pressure-306aafddf26aae9ecccd5b8d7e5ff509
Chinese diplomats have threatened to cancel a summit as well as pressured officials in two African countries to withdraw from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, also known as IPAC. IPAC, consists of a group of hundreds of lawmakers from thirty eight countries. Founded in 2020, this group has coordinated sanctions on China over civil rights abuse cases as well as rallied support for Taiwan, the democratic island China claims as its own. Beijing’s influence has significantly grown in Africa as China has built deep ties with African leaders by developing mines and building infrastructure by loaning money to boost the struggling economies. Since then IPAC has given the Chinese government problems and China has put pressure on countries friendly to itself to remove themselves from IPAC, or face retribution.
For decades, China has attempted to cultivate ties with African governments, seeking diplomatic partnerships and access to natural resources, which China lacks. China, who is relatively new to the foreign world, hopes to build relations with other countries to counter a US dominant system. Many African leaders have welcomed the Chinese presence as it bring much needed capital and infrastructure to lacking economies. However, these deals often are corrupt and take advantage of the weaker African countries as China knows it can overcome them with force. China presents its proposals in these countries as non-political, however China has most definitely had a heavy hand within politics in African countries it is partnered with, and has pressured means to shun Taiwan.
With the US distancing itself from Africa, China is poised to take control of countries in which they have interests as others are not willing to come. China wants to gain the proverbial trust of the outside world to establish itself as a legitimate hegemon, and Africa is a perfect avenue in which it can. China is challenging America’s long held position as global hegemon by challenging American interests abroad in Africa, South America, and possibly Europe. African leaders expect to see more coercive and forceful behavior from Chinese diplomats as Beijing ups the heat on the US and Africa.