United States Vice President Pays Visit To Africa

US Vice President, Kamala Harris has begun a week-long trip to Africa in what is being seen as the latest attempt at counterbalancing China's influence.

Vice President Harris is scheduled to travel to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia to discuss economic development, climate change, food security, and a growing young population.

Harris intends to visit a music studio in Accra and meet with female entrepreneurs before visiting a tech accelerator in Dar es Salaam. 

Harris is scheduled to meet with corporate and charity leaders in Lusaka, Zambia's capital, to discuss boosting access to digital and financial systems. 

"She's going to give a major speech in the capital of Ghana and also engages with a lot of young people in the country. 

"She's focused a lot on the rising youth generation in Africa.

"The median age in the continent is only 19 years old and roughly half of the world's population growth is going to happen in Africa over the next several decades, which is just an enormous potential for the region. 

"When she gets to Tanzania, she’ll be meeting with the country’s first woman president.

"And that's a place where the country's trying to solidify its democracy and try to institute some governing reforms. 

"So we should expect her to highlight some of that as well.

"And then on to Zambia, where there will be more talk about entrepreneurship, food security, other issues that kind of have dominated conversations in Africa", explained Chris Megerian, Associated Press White House Reporter.

The goal of the American administration is to deepen and recast U.S. partnerships in Africa, concentrating on the continent as a site of growth and investment, rather than just aid packages.

"Harris is going to be facing sort of a delicate balancing act on this trip.

"A lot of US outreach to Africa is rooted in this US-China rivalry. 

"China has a lot of influence in the continent through lending countries money, and through building major infrastructure projects like roads and railroads. 

"But at the same time, US officials don't want African leaders to feel like they're being caught in the middle of this geopolitical chess match between the US and China. 

"They want to make African leaders feel like they're dealing with them on their terms.

"And that's something that the vice president will need to balance while she's there to try to form partnerships that help the US and its geopolitical goals, but also create its relationships with African countries as well", concluded the Associated Press White House Reporter.

Harris's visit will be widely followed because she is the first woman and the first person of colour to serve as Vice President. 

Her mother is from India, her father is from Jamaica, and she grew up in California.