Seoul Gazette - In Angola, Biden promises to invest differently to China

Biden is on the second day of a visit to the African country, where the United States is showcasing a major infrastructure project aimed at countering China's investments on the continent.

"The investment from the United States versus from others, it's not about more or less, it's about (being) different," a senior US administration official told reporters.

"Others (are) coming in with very large checks, building a lot of stuff, but that is with high interest rates on debt... and it doesn't come with any of the commitments to their society," the source added.

The outgoing president had promised to visit sub-Saharan Africa during his time in office and is the first US president to travel to Angola, a former Portuguese colony once allied to the Soviet Union.

But the trip takes places as the 82-year-old readies to leave the White House with little political weight left, raising questions about the impact of the visit.

On Tuesday, Biden met his counterpart President Joao Lourenco, 70, who was elected in 2017, and delivered remarks at the National Slavery Museum where slaves were once shipped to the Americas.

The Democrat's schedule on Wednesday will be focused on the economy and a visit to Lobito port, around 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of the capital, Luanda.

He will also visit a food processing factory before attending a summit on infrastructure with the leaders of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia and Tanzania.

The US president is expected to announce fresh investments worth $600 million for the Lobito Corridor, a massive infrastructure project aimed at transporting critical minerals from inland countries to the Angolan port for export.

The White House has said the initiative would also help develop communities around the railway, including boosting agriculture and business in general.

- Reducing 45 days to 45 hours -

The Lobito railway, also funded by the European Union and others, will reduce the time needed to transport minerals from the DRC and Zambia to Angola from 45 days to 45 hours, according to the US administration.

Biden's team said it was confident that President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on January 20, will support the project that is widely seen as an alternative to Chinese investments on the continent.

"You can't stand up and say, I want to compete with China... and not support what's happening here," the senior administration official said.

The Republican president-elect is known for wanting to be "tough" on China and has promised blanket tariffs, raising concerns of a trade war.

During his first term, Trump did not pay much attention to Africa, a continent he once reportedly described as home to "shithole countries".

For the Lobito Corridor to be a real success, the United States will have to cooperate with China because it "dominates the mining sector" in particular in the DRC and Zambia, according to Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, director of the Africa Program at the DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Critics of the (Lobito) project," he said, "charge that it is as extractive and exploitative as the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative" -- China's flagship international infrastructure project.

P.Hwang--SG