The US Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd recently defiled so-called China's non-transparent practices a move to destabilize Africa at the US-Africa Summit, exposing the US geopolitical calculations behind the Summit. The US-Africa Summit held from December 13 to 15 has been eight years since the last summit. Obviously, the Biden administration intended to bridge the ever-widening trust gap between the US and Africa, and said a lot of high-sounding words at the summit. However, by stripping the sugar coating of these high-sounding words, you will detect the old formula of geopolitical games.
美国国防部长奥斯汀日前在美非领导人峰会上污称中国的不透明做法将破坏非洲稳定，奥斯汀这番言论暴露了美非峰会背后美国的地缘政治算计。12月13日至15日举行的美非峰会，距离上一次峰会已时隔8年。显然，拜登政府想弥补美非之间不断扩大的“信任鸿沟”，在此次峰会上说了不少“漂亮话”，但剥开这些漂亮话的“糖衣”一看，内里仍是地缘政治博弈的“老配方”。
It has been commonplace for American politicians to discredit China-Africa cooperation, as shown by "neo-colonialism", "environmental destruction" and then "debt trap", ridiculous arguments having kept emerging. These false arguments have exposed the anxiety of some American politicians about losing their influence in Africa, the prejudice of western centralism, and the narrow-mindedness of indulging in geopolitical competition. However, in the midst of such denigration and smearing, China-Africa relations have maintained the determination never to be affected by outer incidents. Strong stability has always been a remarkable feature of bilateral ties. Among the major countries in the world, it is rarely seen that a country like China has a complete set of ideas, policies and measures in cooperation with Africa, which has been continuously promoted for decades.
美国政客抹黑中非合作已是老生常谈，从“新殖民主义论”到“环境破坏论”再到“债务陷阱论”，各种奇谈怪论层出不穷。这种种不实论调，暴露的是一些美国政客丧失在非洲影响力的焦虑、西方中心主义的偏见、沉迷地缘政治竞争的狭隘。但是，就在这样的诋毁和抹黑声中，中非关系保持了决不会因一时一事而受到影响的定力。具有强大稳定性，正是中非关系的一个显著特征。在世界主要国家中，像中国这样有一整套对非合作理念和政策措施，并几十年如一日持续推进的国家非常罕见。
The US-Africa Summit was held for the second time since the first eight years ago, while the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has gone through 22 years, and it has been a tradition for 32 years for the Chinese foreign ministers to make Africa the first destination as a visit abroad at the very beginning of the year. Since the establishment of FOCAC, Chinese enterprises have built more than 10 thousand kilometers of railways, nearly 100 thousand kilometers of roads, nearly one thousand bridges, nearly one hundred ports, and countless hospitals and schools in Africa, with the achievements made in the China-Africa cooperation widely seen in vast Africa and deeply engraved in the hearts of the local people. A survey released by South Africa's Ichikowitz Family Foundation in June 2022, found China leapfrogging the US to be the darling of many African youths, with China as a major power having the largest positive influence on the continent. A recent poll by YouGov showed that the liking for China by African people has significantly increased in recent years.
美非峰会时隔8年才开第二次，而中非合作论坛已走过22年历程，中国外长每年年初首访非洲的优良传统已坚持了32年。中非合作论坛成立以来，中国企业已在非洲建设了1万多公里铁路、近10万公里公路、近千座桥梁、近百个港口，以及数不清的医院和学校，中非合作的丰硕成果遍布广袤的非洲大地，更印刻在广大非洲人民心里。南非伊奇科维茨家庭基金会今年6月发布的一项调查显示，在非洲年轻人看来，中国已经超越美国成为在非洲拥有最大积极影响力的大国。日前英国民调机构 YouGov一项调查结果显示，非洲国家人民近年对华好感度显著提升。
China is pleased to see all parties in the international community pay more attention to Africa, but firmly opposes the use of Africa as an arena for the game of great powers and the use of Africa strategy as a tool to contain and attack other countries' cooperation with Africa. China's promotion of cooperation with Africa is purely based on the needs of the African side, and China does not seek spheres of influence or engage in geopolitical contests, nor does it pursue self-interests. If there is anything to compete in cooperation with Africa, it is necessary to compare who has done more for Africa, who has made greater contributions to Africa, and who has paid more sweat and hard work for the benefit of the African people.
中国乐见国际社会各方加大对非洲关注，但坚决反对把非洲当作大国博弈的竞技场，将对非战略作为遏制和攻击他国对非合作的工具。中国推进对非合作完全是从非方需要出发，不谋求势力范围，不搞地缘政治争夺，没有任何私利。如果说在对非合作上有什么要竞争的话，那就要比一比，谁为非洲做的更多，谁为非洲贡献更大，谁为非洲人民付出更多的汗水和辛劳。
If the US really wants to facilitate Africa's development, it might as well take the opportunity of the US-Africa Summit to explain to 49 African leaders at first: the US has shown its commitment to the African continent during the first US-Africa Summit in 2014, and why it cut back on the funding to Africa in the fight against AIDS and reduce its aid to Africa. At the worst moment of the COVID-19 pandemic, why did the US send about-to-expiring vaccine doses to Africa while stockpiling a large quantity itself? Why did the US investment in Africa drop from US$69 billion in 2014 to US$44.81 billion in 2021, and why was the bilateral US-Africa trade volume in 2021 just less than half of that in 2008?
美国如果真想要为非洲发展提供助力，倒不如利用美非峰会的机会先好好向49位非洲国家领导人作出解释：2014年，美国曾利用第一次美非峰会来表明对非洲大陆的承诺，为何转头就削减了非洲抗击艾滋病的资金，并减少了对非援助？在疫情最严峻时刻，美国为什么一边大量囤积疫苗，一边却将快过期的疫苗送往非洲？为什么美国对非投资从2014年的690亿美元下降到2021年的448.1亿美元，2021年美非双边贸易额还不到2008年的一半？
Instead of trying to smear China-Africa cooperation, the US should focus on the real needs of African countries and take concrete actions to make real efforts to promote economic and social development and improve people's livelihood in Africa.
对非洲国家这番心里话，美国政客是时候认真听听了。美国与其挖空心思抹黑中非合作，不如把心思放在非洲国家的真实需要上，拿出实际行动为促进非洲经济社会发展和民生改善做出实实在在的努力。
Editor's note: Originally published on haiwainet.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
