In recent years, the economic and military expansion of China and Russia on the black continent has greatly reduced Western influence throughout Africa, with the exception of a large part of the former French colonial empire which remains largely under the influence of Paris and the European Union. But even in this area, Moscow’s aggressiveness in recent years has brought some former French colonies under Russian control (specifically Mali, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso). All the countries of the former French colonial empire could soon “change their coats” and ally themselves with Moscow and Beijing since there is a very strong anti-colonial movement in this area which, if well directed, could easily get the better of the pro-French loyalist governments . And this is an existential threat for the entire West since the latter risks being cut off from the exploitation of the enormous resources of this macro-region. Which seems very serious today if we take into account that Washington and Brussels could soon lose control of Ukrainian resources too if Russia emerges victorious in the ongoing war against Kiev. If you look at the black continent in its entirety, you can see how it is, at least three quarters of it, under Russian and Chinese influence. The Russians are very present in the north and eastern part of the continent, the Chinese in central-southern Africa where they have almost total control of the mines and mineral extraction in the area. Russian economic penetration has been largely favored by the dependence that many African countries have on Moscow for their food needs (especially Egypt and the countries of the Horn of Africa and neighboring areas). . That of Beijing from the penetration of Chinese capital in the form of financing to African countries and large infrastructure projects (construction of highways, ports, bridges, railways, etc.) for the infrastructural modernization of African countries and to encourage the transport of raw materials which are exported to a large extent towards the middle empire. (China owns approximately 70% of the mines in central and southern Africa). Hence the recent “activism” of the West in order not to retreat further in the face of the aggressive expansion of Moscow and Beijing. And to prevent Russia from installing military bases with high strategic value that could strengthen and make the Kremlin’s position on the black continent pre-eminent. The military base that should be built on the Sudanese Red Sea would not only guarantee Moscow’s control over military and commercial transit along the Red Sea but would make the presence of the Russian Air Force in this area almost constant. Also in support of friendly states and factions in the region. And it is clear that this would alter the military balance in the area in favor of the Kremlin also by virtue of the well-known Saudi geopolitical dynamics which are taking the large Islamic country out of the Anglo-Saxon orbit and ever closer to Moscow and Beijing. This is the real reason for the clashes taking place in the Arab country and this demonstrates how the West has begun to counter the Sino-Russian advance on the black continent, also by military means. On the other hand, unconfirmed rumors speak of the meeting of Israeli emissaries with Sudanese leaders last February through which Tel Aviv expressed all its dissent for a possible consent from Khartoum to the construction of the Russian base. And, in all likelihood, the Israeli leadership also warned the Sudanese authorities of the military consequences that would occur if it approved the construction of the base. And after Khartoum’s approval in this regard, the clashes promptly began. Which we fear are only the first of a long series that will bloodied the black continent in the coming years.
The centrality of Africa in the geopolitical vision of the main world powers is an expression of the struggle for control of the mineral resources indispensable for their gigantic industrial apparatuses. The enormous riches of the black continent are as tempting to Washington and Brussels as they are to Moscow and Beijing. Russian and Chinese expansion has, over the last twenty years, reduced the power and influence of the West on the black continent. This is also a consequence of the widespread anti-colonial hatred in Africa after centuries of colonial and neo-colonial exploitation by the USA, Great Britain and France. But also as a consequence of the role that Western finance has had in starving the African populations and in the economic strangulation carried out by the IMF and the World Bank to the detriment of the economy of the black continent (and not only that, just look at how the situation in Latin America mirrors the African one). But, if until now Russia and China seem to have had an easy time subverting balances of power consolidated over decades of Western colonial exploitation on African soil, today the West seems intent on acting to regain control of much of that which he has lost in recent years. Whether he has the strength remains to be seen. But he certainly shows that he intends to do so. And this is not a good sign for the black continent. Who could be the main victim of this terrible clash of power.