中国国家主席习近平和他的妻子彭丽媛，南非总统雅各布·祖马和他的妻子图贝卡·马蒂芭·祖马，出席在约翰内斯堡桑顿举行的2015南非“中国年”南非文化晚会闭幕式，参会的还有几位国家元首和政府首脑。

临近2018年岁末，特朗普终于把目光投向长期被其忽视的非洲，通过国家安全事务助理博尔顿之口公布了姗姗来迟的美国非洲新战略。但这份名为“繁荣非洲”（Prosper Africa）的新战略却沿袭了特朗普执政以来秉承的“美国利益优先”的旧原则，不仅完全从美国利益（而不是非洲利益和需要）出发来安排美非合作，而且毫不讳言新战略的目标是要制衡中俄在非洲的影响力。这让人嗅到经济新冷战的味道。

把“美国利益优先”嵌入非洲新战略

特朗普入主白宫之前以及执政近两年来，其对非洲的认知和相关表述一直为非洲国家和国际社会所诟病。入主白宫前，特朗普就毫不掩饰对非洲及非洲人的负面看法，认为“非洲人是群懒汉和蠢货，只会吃、做爱和偷盗”，并称“如果你们不喜欢美国，就回到你们非洲去”。入主白宫近两年来，特朗普本人不仅从未到访非洲，在白宫也只接待过一位非洲国家领导人（尼日利亚总统布哈里），而且在推特上仍改不了“大嘴”和轻蔑非洲的态度，称非洲国家是“粪坑”国家，还妄言“南非土改已经杀死很多白人农场主”，等等。特朗普执政初期，一方面对非洲国家及一些非洲事务表态口无遮拦，另一方面长期不任命非洲事务助理国务卿，美国一些驻非国家大使职位也长期空缺。然而近半年来，随着美国国内中期选举落幕，特别是看到中非关系发展不断开创新篇章，特朗普总统开始坐不住了。不久前他派出第一夫人梅拉尼娅出访非洲，现在又推出美国的非洲新战略。

按照博尔顿的说法，美国的非洲新战略将在“美国利益优先”指导原则下重点关注三个领域：在经济层面加强与非洲国家的经贸合作，推出“繁荣非洲”计划，推动与非洲国家签订更广泛的双边经贸协议，并支持美国企业对非投资；在反恐和军事合作方面继续打击“伊斯兰国”等极端组织在非洲的活动，但将逐步减少美军在非洲的存在，争取未来三年削减大约10%的驻非美军；在对非援助方面不再“无选择”地对非援助，而将设定“优先”国家进行“有选择”地对外资金援助，以便更有效地利用美国援非资金。换言之，美国今后的对非援助决不搞一碗水端平，而是要赤裸裸地“看人下菜碟”了。而援助谁，援助多少，完全取决于这些国家与美国的亲疏远近。博尔顿称，美国正在制定一项适用于全球范围的对外援助战略，确保每一笔援助资金都能强化美国利益。他还明确说，那些在国际场合不断投票反对美国的国家，或是在行动上违背美国利益的国家，“都不应该获得美国慷慨的援助”。

非洲新战略意在制衡中俄在非洲的影响力

在阐述美国非洲新战略的讲话中，博尔顿还将中国和俄罗斯列为美国在非洲的竞争对手，声称中俄正在非洲通过“掠夺性做法”来“迅速扩大金融和政治影响力”。新战略把美国对非洲地区的愿景美化为“独立、自立和增长”，给中俄对非合作则贴上“依赖、支配和债务”的标签。

盯住中国，眼红中非关系的迅速发展，可以说是特朗普推出非洲新战略的一个重要背景。早在去年3月，时任美国国务卿蒂勒森首次出访非洲，就选择了埃塞俄比亚、吉布提和肯尼亚，针对中国的意味很明显。中国首个海外军事后勤保障基地就在吉布提，而且在此修建了港口、自贸区等项目，包括联通吉布提和埃塞俄比亚的亚吉铁路。肯尼亚和埃塞俄比亚是“一带一路”建设的关键战略支点国家和中非产能合作“先行先试”示范国，埃塞俄比亚还被西方一些媒体称为“非洲的中国”。6月18日，美国新任国务卿蓬佩奥在底特律经济俱乐部发表演讲的时候，也明确表示美国将在非洲发力，“驱除”中国在非洲的影响力，让非洲走美国的经济发展方式和政治模式。针对9月初中非合作论坛北京峰会推出的总额600亿美元的“八项行动”，美国政府也计划整合一个有权进行600亿美元投资的新机构——美国国际发展金融公司，投资重点将是非洲地区。

其实，中国一向对国际对非合作持欢迎、鼓励、推动态度，乃至发挥带头作用。中国国家主席习近平五年四次对非洲进行国事访问，2015年和2018年分别在南非约翰内斯堡及中国北京两次主持中非合作论坛峰会。中非合作从非洲需要和非洲发展利益出发，从不对其他国家的对非合作指指点点和说三道四。特朗普政府重视非洲发展并推出非洲新战略是值得欢迎的好事，但如果继续死抱“美国利益优先”的旧原则和冷战的零和旧思维，则“繁荣非洲”恐怕仍只是一个美丽的“说法”，终将难以变成现实。

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, President Jacob Zuma and his wife Tobeka Madiba Zuma are joined by several Heads of States and Government at the closing ceremony of the 2015 Year of China in South Africa cultural evening in Sandton, Johannesburg. (Picture Credit: GovernmentZA)

US President Donald Trump has finally set his eyes on the long-overlooked Africa. National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the long overdue new African strategy. Yet the new 'Prosper Africa' initiative takes as its guide the 'old principle' of 'American interests first'. Cooperation with Africa has been arranged completely on the basis of American interests instead of those of Africa. The administration also declared in no uncertain terms that the new strategy is aimed at balancing Chinese and Russian influence in Africa, raising the spectre of an economic Cold War.

Embedding 'American interests first' in the new African strategy

Trump's knowledge of and statements about Africa before and since his inauguration on 20 January 2017 have long been criticized by African countries and the world community at large. As a presidential candidate, Trump never concealed his negative views of Africa and Africans, describing Africans as 'lazy fools only good at lovemaking and stealing' and claiming that Africans should 'go back to Africa' if they don't like America. In the past two years in the White House, the President has never visited Africa and has received only one African leader, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. His tweets have been consistently contemptuous of Africa, calling African countries 'shithole countries' and even ranting about the 'large scale killing of white farmers' in South Africa's land reform.Besides being a big mouth on African countries and affairs, Trump has appointed neither an assistant secretary of state for African affairs nor ambassadors to several African countries for a long time. Nonetheless, in the past half year, as the midterm elections came to an end, and in the face of continued growth of China-Africa relations, President Trump could no longer sit still. Not long ago First Lady Melania Trump was sent to Africa for a visit and now the new African strategy has been released.

According to Bolton, the new strategy will be guided by the principle of 'American interests first' and focus on three areas. Economic cooperation will be strengthened with the 'Prosper Africa' plan by signing more extensive bilateral economic agreements and supporting American investments in Africa. In terms of anti-terror and military cooperation, the US will continue striking ISIS and other extremist organizations in Africa while gradually reducing American military presence there by about 10% in the coming three years. In terms of assistance, the US will target its funding selectively toward key countries and particular strategic objectives instead of indiscriminate assistance across the entire continent so as to achieve higher efficiency for American assistance.In other words, there will be no equal treatment without discrimination in the future. Instead, while providing assistance to Africa, the US will select the recipients and determine the amounts completely on the basis of their closeness to the US. Bolton announced that the US is making a global assistance strategy to make sure any sum of aid money is being used to advance American interests. He was also explicit that those countries voting against the US on international forums or taking actions counter to US interests 'should not receive generous American aid.'

The new African strategy is aimed at balancing Chinese and Russian influence in Africa

In his statement on the new African strategy, Bolton identified China and Russia as America's competitors in Africa, accusing them of 'rapidly expanding economic and political influence in Africa' through 'predatory practices'. The new strategy beautifies the American vision for Africa as 'independence, self-reliance and growth' while labelling Chinese and Russia cooperation there as creating 'dependence, subordination and debt'.

Keeping a close watch on China and being jealous of the rapid growth of China-Africa relations seems to have motivated Trump's new African strategy. As early as last March, then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson selected Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya as the destinations for his first African visit, apparently having China in mind. The first Chinese overseas logistics base is in Djibouti and China has helped construct a port, a free trade zone, and a railway linking Djibouti to Addis Ababa. Kenya and Ethiopia are both strategic fulcrums of the Belt and Road Initiative and examples of capacity cooperation. Ethiopia is even described by some Western media as 'China in Africa'. In a speech at the Detroit Economic Club on 18 June, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also made it clear that the US will take action in Africa to drive Chinese influence out of the continent and let Africa follow American economic and political models. With the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) identifying eight action areas with a total worth of $60 billion, the American government has also created the US International Development Finance Corporation and given it the power to decide on the investments of $60 billion dollars, primarily in Africa.

As a matter of fact, China has always welcomed, encouraged, and even led international cooperation in Africa. President Xi Jinping has visited Africa four times in the past five years and presided over the FOCAC summits twice, in Johannesburg (2015) and Beijing (2018). Our cooperation with African countries has developed on the basis of African needs and interests. And China has never pointed fingers at or made carping comments on other countries' cooperation with Africa. It is a good thing that the Trump administration now gives attention to African development and introduce a new African strategy. But if it holds on to the old principle of putting American interests first and the old Cold War mentality of a zero-sum game, the 'Prosper Africa' statement will remain beautiful rhetoric instead of being turned into reality.