In Angola, President Joe Biden plans to tout US investment and visit a slavery museum

Joe Biden used the first visit to Angola by a US president on Tuesday to promote billions of dollars in commitments to the sub-Saharan African nation and speak at a slavery museum where he will acknowledge the human trafficking that once linked the nations’ economies.

“The United States is all for Africa,” Biden told Angolan President João Loureno, who called Biden’s visit an important turning point in U.S.-Angola relations dating back to the Cold War.

But while the trip was intended to counter China’s influence on the African continent of more than 1.4 billion people by showcasing a $3 billion US commitment to the Lobito Corridor rail redevelopment linking Zambia, Congo and Angola, China announced its own move .

The corridor across southern Africa is intended to facilitate the movement of raw materials for export and boost the US presence in a region rich in critical minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, electronic equipment and clean energy technologies.

China already has large investments in mining and processing African minerals, and on Tuesday it announced it is banning exports to the United States of gallium, germanium, antimony and other high-tech materials. It came a day after the United States expanded its list of Chinese technology companies subject to scrutiny.

The US has for years built relationships in Africa through trade, security and humanitarian aid. The 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) rail upgrade is different, with nuances of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure strategy in Africa and other parts of the world.

Biden will visit the coastal town of Lobito on Wednesday to look at the corridor’s outlet from the Atlantic Ocean. The project has also drawn funding from the European Union, the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, a Western-led private consortium and African banks.

It was not clear how much of the US commitments had been met and how much will depend on the Trump administration.

White House spokesman John Kirby said the completion of the corridor “is going to take years”. That means much of it could fall to Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20.

Asked whether the project could proceed without Trump’s support, Kirby said the Biden administration’s hope “is that they also see the value, that they see how it will help drive a safer, more prosperous, more economically stable continent. “

Kirby also insisted that the corridor was about more than just trying to outdo Beijing.

“We are not asking countries to choose between us and Russia and China. We are simply looking for reliable, sustainable, verifiable investment opportunities that the people of Angola and the people of the continent can trust,” he said.

An Angolan, 19-year-old Ladislau Ngola, called Biden’s visit “very important for our country, as the Lobito corridor will create lots of jobs for young people.” Julião Oliveira said “Africa in general” would also benefit.

The rainy streets of the capital, Luanda, had a large presence of soldiers but few civilians – a striking change from Biden’s arrival on Monday, when cheering onlookers lined his route. The authorities urged people to stay at home on Tuesday to clear up the traffic. As the motorcade passed through outer neighborhoods, crowds waved from rooftops or intersections.

Biden and Lourenco spoke briefly to reporters before a closed-door meeting. Ignoring questions about his decision to issue a pardon to his son after previously vowing not to, Biden laughed and joked to the Angolan delegation, “Welcome to America.”

He also told Lourenco, while promising to use the trip to listen: “We don’t think because we’re bigger and more powerful that we’re smarter. We don’t think we have all the answers.”

Angola’s president said he would like to see a public-private partnership to boost energy production. He praised Biden’s “vision and leadership” on the Lobito Corridor, saying it would “always be remembered.”

After the meeting, a senior US official said China did not come up. The official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a meeting that was not public, said Trump was not mentioned much because Biden did not want to be seen as speaking for him.

The official also said that Biden’s visit to Lobito will be accompanied by the presidents of Zambia and Congo.

Biden had promised to visit Africa last year, after reviving the 2022 US-Africa summit. But the trip was delayed until this year and pushed back again in October because of Hurricane Milton – reinforcing a sentiment among Africans that their continent is still low. priority for Washington.

The last US president to visit sub-Saharan Africa was Barack Obama in 2015. Biden attended a UN climate summit in Egypt in North Africa in 2022.

Later Tuesday, Biden visited Angola’s National Slavery Museum. The site was once the headquarters of the Capela da Casa Grande, a 17th-century temple where slaves were baptized before boarding ships that took them to America.

Kirby said Biden will give a speech there acknowledging “both the terrible history of slavery that has connected our two nations, but also looking forward to a future based on a shared vision that benefits both of our peoples.”

Biden also met briefly with Wanda Tucker, a descendant of William Tucker, the first enslaved child born in the United States, the White House said. William Tucker’s parents were brought to colonial Virginia from Angola in August 1619 aboard a Portuguese ship. Tucker was to attend Biden’s speech.