Resisting China’s ICT Influence in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Bandwagoning-for-Profit Perspective

Abstract

In light of the increasingly pivotal role of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in the escalating US-China competition, this paper explores why US-led anti-Chinese information and communications technology (ICT) campaigns have not resonated with African countries. It notes that Washington’s narrative about China’s ICT activities in the region corresponds with Stephen Walt’s “balance of threat,” emphasizing the threat of China and demanding that African states balance against its cyber aggression. It argues, however, that American policymakers should focus more on Randall Schweller’s “bandwagoning for profit” to resist China’s ICT influence in the region because the pitfalls of malignant Chinese ICTs are outweighed by the opportunities and prospects of mobile-driven digital transformation there. This paper explores Washington’s unsatisfactory approach toward the SSA, traces China’s long-term penetration into the digital sector among African countries, and argues that the country’s strategic objective in the region is to establish a digital ecosystem filled with Chinese technologies and devices. It then evaluates the region’s digital prospects and the yearning among African countries to learn from China’s late development path. The paper concludes that China is not winning hearts and minds in the region and both strategies of balancing and bandwagoning persist in Sino-African relations. African countries would not always bandwagon with China if there were more alternatives. To resist the country’s ICT influence in the region, Washington should engage with Africa’s ICT industries, deepen trade relations and help to grow its digital economy.