War of words: China and the US battle it out for the loyalty of African hearts and minds

On March 31, Africa-defence-forum" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="110778" data-entity-type="organization">Africa Defence Forum magazine, a publication of the US Army’s Africa Command, ran an article called: “China’s floating fish factories plunder Guinea Bissau’s resources”.It detailed illegal operations by Chinese fishing trawlers in the West African country’s territorial waters, portraying the activities as part of a pattern of exploitation of African countries by China.Meanwhile, over on the website of China Global Television Network’s (CGTN) Africa service was the headline: “Mahama warns of global impact of US ‘erasure’ of Black history”.It was a story about President John Mahama of Ghana condemning the US for trying to erase its record of enslavement and exploitation of people of African descent.Both headlines reflect the diverging approaches to the African story by the US and China media. In the rivalry between the world’s two biggest economies for access to Africa’s vital natural resources, there is also an expanding war of narratives aimed at winning African minds.