Key insights from a peer-learning negotiation workshop.

The U.S.-DRC-Zambia memorandum of understanding demonstrates how the United States aims to counter China and bolster its clean energy supply chains by deepening ties with African nations. Yet how distinct is the U.S. approach from the Chinese approach to such deals?

China and Benin have long had a flourishing economic relationship. While China has financed large-scale infrastructure projects and has since become Benin's largest trading partner, Benin has also been able to hold its own in negotiations despite their asymmetric trade relationship. Folashade Soule offers three reasons why Beninese officials were able to successfully negotiate with China.

Beninese officials have shown how even small countries can use close coordination between ministries and other negotiating tactics to strike deals with Chinese counterparts that better protect their own interests.

A closer look at African summitry offers a better understanding of the motives and strategies underlying African leaders’ involvement in these diplomatic exercises and shows how engaging African leaders in these summits could be done in ways that align more with their interests.