A great disillusionment, or an assumed disinterest? Everyone has their opinion, to explain the slow tumble of French influence in Africa. Glacial relations with Algeria, the military bases evacuated in Niger, Mali or Burkina Faso, the big French banks which leave one by one the countries of the continent … All the signals seem in red. Russia is often pointed out for its growing influence in Africa, Moscow feeding anti -French feeling in the old colonies and deploying a paramilitary force capable of serving the interests of the leaders in place. But the country led by Vladimir Putin is not the only one to eye on this continent.
The Chinese giant is indeed in force. Complant diplomacy, mega contracts and denigration campaigns with regard to Westerners propelled the People’s Republic to the rank of first trading partner on the continent. And from far away. In this new long video format, L’Express retraces the history of this Chinese interest in Africa, from Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping.