Top stories from DAWNS Digest
Hillary Clinton Travels to Africa…To Gently Chide African Partnerships with China
The US Secretary of State will visit South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa and Senegal. She is expected to give a speech that may ruffle a few feathers in Beijing. “Without mentioning China by name, Clinton will urge African leaders to carefully consider projects proposed by foreign countries that do not demand complete accountability and may encourage corruption to the detriment of the people of some of the world’s most impoverished nations, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to preview the speech. The United States is increasingly concerned about China’s growing interest in Africa, the result of its massive demand for energy and natural resources to fuel its exploding economy. U.S. officials, including Clinton, have in the past expressed deep reservations about China’s practice of setting up huge infrastructure or other building projects, employing only Chinese workers and ignoring human rights and democratic principles. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement that Clinton will use the speech in Dakar to laud Senegal’s democracy and ‘highlight America’s approach to partnership’ across Africa.” (Politico http://politi.co/NjyRyu)