US' new Africa strategy is 'welcomed by China'

After many years during which it was primarily concerned with security issues in Africa, the United States is now taking a more practical and humble approach to the continent, Chinese development experts said.

The US is instead focusing on infrastructure projects and trade relations, which have long been at the heart of the China-Africa relationship.

This strategy is in line with the US' stated goal in recent years of "catching up with China and winning in Africa", a move that aims to counter China's growing economic and political influence around the continent.

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But Chinese contractors in Africa are taking a laid-back and even welcoming approach to the new competition.

"We know infrastructure is the key to the future of Africa, so we have been doing this during the past few decades. The infrastructure gap is still huge, so we believe that more competitors will be beneficial to the African people," said Mo Kun, a project manager at China Road and Bridge Corp in Kenya. "We don't feel pressure from increased competition because we have unique advantages."

He said that his company is highly confident about its market share because China and Africa have a robust relationship that goes beyond infrastructure.

"We see other Chinese companies as our main competitors, but we also realize that the market is far from saturated, even with new participants from different countries," he said. "Compared with other players, we have a flexible way of operating that is more suitable for the realities on the ground in African countries, and our cooperation comes without political or military strings.

"More important, our high-quality work and high levels of efficiency are much appreciated by customers," he said.

US President Barack Obama made a $33 billion investment pledge to Africa during a recent summit of US and African leaders. A lot of that money is meant to improve Africa's infrastructure.

The US, along with Sweden, the World Bank and private sources, have brought funding for Obama's "Power Africa" energy initiative to $26 billion, a sign of the participants' ambition to take a bigger stake in Africa's infrastructure market.

China has become Africa's top trading partner, with transactions rising from $10 billion in 2000 to $200 billion in 2013. When Premier Li Keqiang visited Africa earlier this year, he forecast that bilateral trade could hit $400 billion by 2020.

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