Who Benefits from US-China Competition in Africa?

Podcast Deep Dish on Global Affairs Podcast
Some say China's Belt and Road Initiative is a solution to help African countries build modern economies, while others call it "debt trap diplomacy." Who's right and how can—or should—the United States compete?
Belt and Road Workers in Africa Play Podcast
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China’s massive investment in Africa through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has prompted concern over political influence—enough for the G-7 to form a rival initiative, the Build Back Better World (B3W). The Center for Global Development’s Gyude Moore and the US Navy’s Michele Lowe join Elizabeth Shackelford on Deep Dish to explore whether these programs are positive or negative and how African countries can take control of their futures. 

 

About the Experts
Michele Lowe
Former US Navy Federal Executive Fellow
Council expert Michele Lowe
Michele Lowe is the former US Navy Federal Executive Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She's served onboard two destroyers, holds degrees in physics and international relations, spent nearly ten years at sea, earned multiple military decorations, and planned and executed the first Marine Expeditionary Force at-sea exercise Dawn Blitz.
Council expert Michele Lowe
W. Gyude Moore
Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development
Gyude Moore
Gyude Moore is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD). He previously served as Liberia’s Minister of Public Works with oversight over the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure from December 2014 to January 2018. Prior to that role, Moore served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Head of the President’s Delivery Unit (PDU).
Gyude Moore
Elizabeth Shackelford
Former Senior Fellow, US Foreign Policy
Council staff Elizabeth Shackelford
Elizabeth Shackelford, a former career diplomat who served the US Mission to Somalia and the US Embassy in South Sudan, focuses on building awareness and understanding of a "restraint" approach to foreign policy, which seeks to limit the use of force to core US security interests and favors diplomatic engagement.
Council staff Elizabeth Shackelford
Issues US Foreign Policy Global Politics
Regions Sub-Saharan Africa China Africa
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