The visiting player Chin Motegi, the weak king… China and Japan fighting in Africa

Hong Kong Myungbo (明報) reported on the 6th that the stage of the battle between China and Japan is expanding beyond Asia to Africa. The foreign ministers of China and Japan are running competitively to Africa from the beginning of the new year.

Wang Yi, a member of China’s State Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs, visits Nigeria on the 5th to greet President Bukuri with elbows. [중국 외교부 홈페이지 캡처]

Wang Yi, a member of China’s State Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited five African countries on the 4th. Nigeria, Congo, Botswana, Tanzania, Seychelles and more. China’s state-run Xinhua company said Wang Yi’s visit to Africa was a tradition of Chinese diplomacy.

China’s foreign minister has been following the customs of the past 30 years to visit African countries on New Year’s Day since 1991. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hwa Chun-ying said that cooperation between China and Africa will take place in overcoming the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will visit three African countries on the 10th following a tour of four African countries last month. An analysis comes out that it is a checklist in China. [연합뉴스]

Meanwhile, Myungbo’s analysis is that the Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Africa at the beginning of the new year, which has continued its 30-year tradition, has faded due to Japan’s active African diplomacy. This is because Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi hit the player.

Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi had already visited four African countries including Tunisia, Mozambique, South Africa, and Mauritius in December of last year. Moreover, from the 10th to the 13th of this month, which is only a month later, it will visit three African countries, including Senegal, Nigeria, and Kenya.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chun-ying said that Wang Yi’s visit to Africa by State Council member and foreign minister would be of great help in China-Africa cooperation to overcome the novel coronavirus outbreak. [중국 외교부 홈페이지 캡처]

Japanese media are particularly eye-catching by reporting that Motegi’s visit to Africa is not hiding that China is in check. Before leaving for Africa last year, Foreign Minister Motegi said, “We are considering China to expand its influence in Africa with huge infrastructure investments.”

He also said, “China is placing great importance on relations with Africa for the purpose of securing resources.” He made it clear that his visit to Africa twice a month was under Chinese checks.

China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nigeria on the 5th, following the tradition of Chinese diplomacy on a trip to Africa at the beginning of the New Year. [중국 외교부 홈페이지 캡처]

Myungbo’s main conflict between China and Japan is a history issue and a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands. Recently, Japan is raising tensions by establishing a confrontation with China over the South China Sea issue and Taiwan issue. Said.

The place where Wangi and Motegi’s trip to Africa overlaps is Nigeria, which also stimulates China’s nerves. Nigeria is a major country with the largest population in Africa, and it is the host of this year’s China-Africa Cooperation Forum.

The charm of Africa is that it is rich in natural resources, is the youngest continent in the world and has 55 seats in the United Nations. There is also an analysis that Japan, on behalf of the West, started to check China in Africa, while Western countries such as the United States were unable to afford the corona crisis.

Beijing = Yoo Sang-chul, correspondent [email protected]