Vice President Kamala Harris of Ghana. Misper Apawu / AP
The US-China relationship
Harris is judged to have difficulty competing with China for Africa
US Vice President Kamala Harris has started a trip in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia this weekend. The trip is described according to the New York Times as an important step towards breathing new life into relations with African countries, which are considered to have lagged behind in recent years.
Harris' goal, according to the newspaper's sources, is to reassure allied countries that Washington wants to focus on innovation and economic growth on the continent, rather than just targeting corruption and violence.
But it will not be an easy task – especially when China, for its part, has historically good ties to many African countries. Cobus van Staden of the research organization China Global South Project believes so. Among other things, he points to the fact that the first trip of the year for the Chinese foreign minister is always to Africa.
- That connection has been built up over many years and will be difficult to replicate in the short term. It will require active involvement across several US administrations, he told the newspaper.
Ma Ying-jeou meets the press ahead of the trip. Chiang Ying-ying / AP
The China-Taiwan relationship
Taiwan's ex-president on rare visit to China
Taiwan's former president Ma Ying-jeou arrives on Monday in China, several news agencies report. The visit is the first by a former or sitting Taiwanese president since the 1949 Chinese Civil War that ended with the Communist Party taking power.
In a statement, Ma said he hoped the visit would "improve the tense atmosphere" between Beijing and Taipei. Ma belongs to Taiwan's main opposition party, the KMT, which wants to see stronger ties to China, but does not claim to be pro-Beijing.
The visit has been criticized by the ruling party DPP, which says in a statement that it "gives support to Beijing's Taiwan policy", writes AFP.
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