Obama trying to get foothold in Africa

In the past 10 days, US President Barack Obama has done two quite extraordinary things. On June 25, he rolled out new measures to fight climate change by using his executive powers; then a day later, he left for Africa for a weeklong three-nation visit. It was his first presidential visit to sub-Saharan Africa, except for a brief stop in Ghana in 2009.

His trip to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania was focused on trade. The United States is keen to get a foothold in the continent, as emerging economies, such as China, India, Brazil and Turkey, already have a fast-growing footprint in Africa. In 2009, China overtook the US as Africa's largest trade partner and bilateral trade was close to $200 billion in 2012, compared with $10 billion in 2000, and the direct investment in Africa was $2.9 billion in 2012. China has been building roads, bridges, airports and other infrastructure, and its investment in manufacturing has equaled its investment in mining. In 2011, more than 1 million Chinese visited the continent.

Obama said he does not feel threatened by the growing trade and investment in Africa by emerging economies such as China, but he quickly made a pointed remark: "If someone says they want to come build something here, are they hiring African workers? If somebody says that they want to help you develop your natural resources, how much of the money is staying in Africa?"