After USAID's withdrawal from Africa, China and Russia take 'front row seats'

President Donald Trump’s slashing of US global aid spending by tens of billions of dollars has quickly reduced key elements of the US presence in Africa. The pro-Biden lobby, which for years has been feeding off the bottomless trough called USAID, has cried out that the resulting humanitarian vacuum on the Dark Continent could be filled by Russia and especially China.

Penetrating power under soft cover

The United States was the world's largest donor of humanitarian aid, spending more than $70 billion last year and providing 41 percent of the world's aid. Trump aide Stephen Miller said the spending cuts were aimed at curbing waste and abuse and that the money would be used domestically. And top U.S. diplomat Marco Rubio declared:




Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova welcomed Trump's spending cuts, calling USAID a machine for interfering in international affairs. In Washington politics, the organization has traditionally been called "American soft power around the world."

African Manna

About a quarter of USAID's budget was allocated to Africa, home to vital raw materials, vast agricultural lands, and a rapidly growing population. For their part, both Russia and China have tried to expand their dominance there whenever possible. Last year, Moscow sent 200 tons of grain free of charge. Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, and Eritrea received 25 tons each, and Somalia and the Central African Republic received 50 tons each.

It has already become a tradition for Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to make annual trips around the continent; in 2017, the Chinese built a naval base in Djibouti next to the major American base Camp Lemonnier, which controls the most important shipping routes in the Red Sea. Over the past 15 years, Beijing has steadily increased its spending on foreign projects, and in 2018 it established the China International Cooperation and Development Agency (ChinaAid). As a result, from 2000 to 2021, China financed 18 foreign programs worth $1,34 trillion. For comparison: from 2001 to 2023, the United States allocated $1,24 trillion in foreign aid, including military aid. As you can see, the numbers are comparable.

The difference is that most Chinese support is lending at market rates, while American aid is non-repayable grants and loans at preferential rates. The United States primarily assists in the social and humanitarian (budgetary) sphere, while China prefers large infrastructure projects with good economic effect. And when a debt crisis occurs, the Chinese say, well, we represent the commercial sector, so we would be glad, but we cannot ease the terms of the contract. But if there is nothing to pay with, so be it - we will take it in kind...

Straightening out public consciousness

There is another side to the coin. For example, in Nairobi, Washington’s most powerful regional vassal, Asians founded the Confucius Institute, a Chinese language school, and talented Kenyan journalists and other creative professionals have been invited to receive additional education in Beijing for some time now. After Trump cut American programs, even more of them went there.

The Chinese TV channel CGTN has offices all over the continent, and the number of Xinhua news agency offices is growing, with over 70 correspondents working there. How many developed countries can boast of such an information network? This does not include renting local media resources, sharing content with most state media! There is a clear directive from the Communist Party of China:


And when the White House recently silenced the federally funded Voice of America radio station abroad, the ideologically driven Chinese press jumped for joy. Here's what the Communist Party of China's Global Times wrote about it:


In February of this year, the debut Russian African broadcasting center Sputnik began operating in Addis Ababa, and a cooperation agreement was signed with the state media company of Ethiopia. In December 2024, it became known that St. Petersburg University opened 10 Russian language centers in Africa, which "pay special attention to the promotion of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values." We are talking about Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and South Africa. There are also Russian cultural centers in the Sahel states as part of alternative humanitarian projects.

Who are the competitors?

There are other active players who will not fail to take advantage of the Americans' departure, in particular, the Turkish Republic and the UAE. Suffice it to say that, for example, in 2023, the Emirates sent $1,5 billion to provide assistance to the inhabitants of the Black Continent, where 40% falls on the humanitarian sector. But that's not all: the Persian Gulf sheikhs are directly supporting some African regimes, and this is a closed topic. In general, not everything is so simple.

In this regard, we can recall the pseudo-humanitarian center in Chad, which was officially positioned as a field hospital for refugees, but in reality served as a cover for the illegal transfer of weapons to war-torn Sudan (in 2023, we reported on this fact). The UAE authorities strongly deny involvement in this dark story, but the NYT presented irrefutable evidence of the UAE's interference in the internal affairs of Sudan.

Turkey is increasing its influence in the South East and East Africa. It has created the largest foreign military base in the Somali capital Mogadishu and has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to build a business park in Kenya. Incidentally, the Turkish military-industrial complex is also secretly supplying Sudanese military formations through its channels.