All African roads lead to Beijing

The same European governments that warn Africa about Chinese influence privately acknowledge that disengagement from China is neither realistic nor desirable

- Kweku Ampiah

Not ad idem: Leaders of the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) member states who met in Luanda, Angola for the seventh EU-AU summit speak with forked tongues when it comes to trade with China. Photo: European Council

(Photo: European Council)

For centuries, Europe's relationship with Africa has been defined by domination rather than partnership.

Colonial rule formalised the extraction of African labour and resources and while political independence was achieved, European control did not vanish. Instead, it adapted and evolved.

Economic dependency -maintained through trade asymmetries, conditional aid and strategic alliances -ensured that African states remained tethered to European interests, even after formal decolonisation.

Today, this legacy sits uneasily alongside Europe's increasingly vocal criticism of China's growing presence in Africa. Accusations of neocolonialism, debt-trap diplomacy and political manipulation directed at Beijing are deeply ironic, given that the same European powers that continue to treat Africa as a colonial appendage now project their own historical framework onto China's engagement with the continent.

This contradiction highlights a deeper tension in European foreign policy: between professed concern for African sovereignty and a persistent desire to exploit Africa's resources and political landscape in a shifting global order.

Former colonial powers have maintained leverage over their former African colonies through political patronage, military cooperation and economic arrangements designed to secure access to resources and markets.