Biden's belated attempt to divert Africa's critical minerals

In a last-ditch effort to woo Africa and meet his years-long promise of visiting sub-Saharan Africa, lame-duck US President Joe Biden visited Angola, marking the first trip by a sitting US president to the region in almost a decade.

Lobito Corridor - the first strategic project launched under the flagship Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment that connects Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia and Angola to regional and global markets though Angolan port of Lobito - was Biden's key focus over its proximity to the Atlantic, closer to the US and Europe.

America wants to use Lobito Atlantic Railway to secure critical minerals, required for global low-carbon transition such as electric vehicles, solar panels and semiconductors, with the Corridor being the quickest route for exporting these raw materials from central African copper belt to the US. Washington has also declared to expand the railway project to the Indian Ocean through Tanzania.

Many critical minerals, vital for American economic and national security, are mined in Africa where China has a stranglehold on these raw materials. For instance, DRC is home to the world's largest deposits of copper and cobalt and China owns 80 per cent of its copper mines and 76 per cent of the cobalt. Out of the seven lithium assets in Africa expected to start production by 2027, Chinese companies also have at least 50 per cent equity ownership.

Through initiative, Washington seeks to alter this longstanding status quo by transporting Africa's critical minerals to the US in a bid to lessen its reliance on China and its clean energy competitiveness. This is crucial for the US and NATO, facing serious risks of mineral shortages over the Ukraine war. In an attempt to counter China, the US is also presenting itself an alternative while taking advantage of billions of dollars of investments from China in Africa.

It isn't, however, easy for the US to blunt China's influence in Africa given that Beijing, over the last two decades, has become Africa's largest trading partner; biggest financer, including in infrastructure, mining and energy; and a leading source of foreign direct investment. Through initiatives and platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and FOCAC, Beijing has won over the continent.

China at this year's FOCAC summit pledged to provide nearly $51 billion in funding to Africa and create one million jobs across the continent. China's support of African modernisation is reflected in the continent's youth and decision-makers who have a high approval rate of world's second largest economy compared to the US and Europe over their excessive interference in their domestic politics and sovereignty in the name of democracy and human rights.

In a background press call ahead of Biden's visit, White House official boasted that 80 per cent of $55 billion investments in Africa in 2022 through 2025 have been met. However, much of those investments didn't bring visible benefits to average Africans, raising doubts whether America would be able to replace China in near future.

The US efforts could also suffer a setback as more and more African countries are considering reducing export of raw materials to promote local processing. Sensing African demands, China has already pledged to develop local value chains, manufacturing and deep processing of critical minerals, which will be backed by direct investment in refining and processing. This would allow Africa to tap its potential of generating $16 trillion revenues from extraction of just four key minerals - copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium - over the next 25 years and reduce the $100 billion annual infrastructure financing gap.

As America looks to serve its own interests and blunt China's influence in Africa, many in the continent accuse West of holding a predatory attitude toward the continent citing their colonial legacies, admitting that Chinese investments have modernised continent and generated thousands of jobs.

China's track record of delivering infrastructure projects has raised its credibility and attractiveness across Africa, underscoring why continent will not allow the US to use Lobito Corridor as a strategic tool against China. What's more, the African leaders will be keen to see the approach of Donald Trump who has made "America First" as his top priority with a history of disparaging the African nations.

The Lobito Corridor will be completed by the end of the decade, suggesting that the US will have to stay committed with the continent for at least six years; but keeping in view its historical ambivalence to Africa, it looks highly improbable. America's interest in a narrow group of African countries, crucial to build its critical minerals supply chain, further reveals that its commitment, if continued, will be largely confined to a handful of African countries, stoking uneasiness in the rest of Africa about the self-centered behaviour of the US.

Biden's belated attempt to deepen partnership with Africa is unlikely to result in a meaningful outcome since it comes at the tail end of his career, contains cosmetic measures to reinstate US image, boosts ties with selective African countries, and aims to solely divert the continent's resources to America. It could have bolstered the Africa-US relations had it come earlier, focused on overall Africa's development, and didn't make his visit look as extractive and exploitative.