The scramble for Africa is intensifying. In early August, U.S. President Barack Obama hosted 50 African leaders, signaling renewed interest in the continent.
These leaders understand that this is the African moment and must welcome the intensified competition over their natural resources because it improves their bargaining leverage.
The Sino-Japanese rivalry has extended to other parts of the world in a competition for natural resources, markets and political influence. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has energetically revived Japan's moribund diplomacy by crisscrossing the globe, but he has a deep hole to climb out of. In the ongoing contest for sub-Saharan African markets and resources, China is way ahead of Japan. China's two-way trade has rocketed from $10 billion in 2000 to $170 billion in 2013, closing in on the European Union's $200 billion and dwarfing Japan's $25 billion.