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US President Visits Angola Amid Concerns Over China's Growing Influence in the Region

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President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit two African countries, Cape Verde and Angola, as part of a two-day trip. The focus of the visit is an 800-mile railway project in Angola, which represents the largest-ever American investment in African infrastructure. The visit to Angola had originally been planned for mid-October but was postponed due to a hurricane in Florida. Biden is expected to highlight the historical bond between the US and Angola that originated from the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Military, political, and economic agreements are set to be signed during the visit.

    1. China has only gained prominence because western countries have probably not been paying much attention to Africa.
    1. We remember the stolen men and women and children who were brought to our shores in chains, subjected to unimaginable cruelty.
    2. I have learned that while history can be hidden, it cannot and should not be erased.
    3. The United States is founded on an idea, one embedded in our Declaration of Independence, that all men and women are created equal.
    4. It is abundantly clear today we have not lived up to that idea, but we have not fully walked away from it either.
    1. I just kind of push back on the premise that this is some Johnny-come-lately trip at the very end.
    1. This is a win for [Angolan] President Joao Lourenco, who for years has been striving for more international recognition. It's time to reap what he sowed.
    2. The Angolan president wants to work with both economic superpowers and wants to profit from the competition. Russia also has skin in the game.
    3. This trip is the result of years of diplomatic efforts from Angola's president.
    4. We're not asking countries to choose between US and Russia and China. We're simply looking for reliable, sustainable, verifiable investment opportunities that the people of Angola and the people of the continent can rely on.
    1. As long as they keep labeling Lobito one of the main anti-China tools in Africa, there is a certain likelihood that it's going to keep being funded.
    1. The plan is to establish a network of US military bases in the South Atlantic. And Angola is part of this network.
    2. Soyo was chosen because it is close to the oil-rich exclave of Cabinda and the Congo and therefore is a strategic location.
    3. Recently, military cooperation between the USA and Angola has also increased.
    1. This one would matter less coming as it does at the very end of a lame-duck presidency. Ironically, [an Africa trip] probably matters more to Biden, who is searching to establish a legacy in Africa…than for Africa, which is already preparing for his successor.
    1. A lot is riding on this in terms of its success and its replicability.