President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he is postponing upcoming trips to Germany and Angola due to Category 4 Hurricane Milton, which is scheduled to hit the Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday.
Biden was scheduled to leave for Germany on Thursday and head to Angola for his first and only official African trip as president.
Angola is home to a U.S.-backed port and connectivity project aimed at increasing Western countries' ability to compete with China in Africa for critical materials.
Angola’s Lobito port on the Atlantic Ocean will be connected to copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia as part of the Lobito Corridor through a renovated and expanded rail network.
The Lobito Corridor is funded by the United States and other Western partners through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, known as PGI or PGII.
China is proposing to invest $1 billion to upgrade the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA), which also runs through Central Africa’s copper belt to the Indian Ocean.
China is playing a dominant role in developing Africa’s key materials industries and infrastructure through investment and development financing programs such as the Belt and Road Initiative. Biden’s visit to Angola was aimed at demonstrating the importance the United States places on the Lobito Corridor and sub-Saharan Africa.
Climate change and competition with China
In May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an “above-normal” hurricane season due in part to “record-warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean.” As a result, Biden, who was originally reluctant to travel, has been forced to stay at home due to the effects of Hurricane Milton, which is caused by climate change. This is another setback for U.S. efforts to compete with China on the African continent, which is rich in potential and home to some of the world’s fastest-growing populations.
By the end of this century, five of the world’s 10 most populous countries will be located in Africa. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania are two of these five countries.
To learn more about the U.S.-China competition for green metals and infrastructure in Africa, listen to our podcast with Kobus van Staden from earlier this year.
Arif Rafiq is the editor of Globely News. Rafiq has contributed commentary and analysis on global issues to publications such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, The New York Times, and POLITICO magazine.
He has appeared on numerous broadcast stations including Al Jazeera English, BBC World Service, CNN International, and National Public Radio.
