African Media Didn’t Cover Xi Jinping’s World Economic Forum Speech, But They Probably Should Have

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday delivered his first major international address since Joe Biden became president of the United States. Xi spoke remotely to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He touted China’s success in battling COVID-19, reiterated his oft-stated support of multilateral institutions, and implicitly attacked the U.S. for its “arrogant isolation.”

Not surprisingly, U.S. media outlets focused on the “Cold War” aspect of Xi’s speech along with the various indirect references to Beijing’s rivalry with Washington.

Few, if any, major news channels in Africa and other developing regions covered the address. But they probably should have, given that a significant portion of the Chinese president’s comments focused on issues pertinent to the Global South.

Portions of Xi’s Speech That Might Be of Interest to African Stakeholders

NORTH-SOUTH WEALTH INEQUALITY:  The president addressed the widening wealth gap between rich and poor countries, adding that COVID-19 is making a bad situation worse: “As countries grapple with the pandemic, their economic recoveries are following divergent trajectories, and the North-South gap risks further widening and even perpetuation.” 

COMMENT: Leaders from other wealthy countries, for the most part, don’t prioritize wealth iniquity quite so prominently. Regardless of China’s comparatively wealthy status, Xi is clearly signaling to African and other developing regions that he still sees China as a “brother” in a sort of class struggle against incumbent powers.

FOCUS ON PRACTICAL, TANGIBLE ECONOMIC ISSUES: Towards the end of his speech, President Xi focused on the importance of multilateralism and the need to “eradicate poverty, ease debt burden, and achieve more growth.”

COMMENT: African leaders have unanimously said they do not want to be drawn into a new Cold War conflict and President Xi’s remarks to that end were no doubt well received. Furthermore, the issues they’ve said need more international attention are exactly the three points raised by the Chinese president: poverty, debt and jobs.

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The post African Media Didn’t Cover Xi Jinping’s World Economic Forum Speech, But They Probably Should Have appeared first on The China Africa Project.



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