The U.S. is assembling an economic and security assistance package for Gabon in a bid to prevent China from establishing a military footprint in the strategically positioned Central African nation, according to people familiar with the matter.
The agreement will include training for Gabon’s special forces and $5 million in funding for the country’s democratic transition, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The U.S. has in recent years tried to chip away at China’s role as the dominant foreign power in Africa, but has yet to match Beijing’s financial largess — including another $50 billion pledged this week — and is widely regarded as not having treated the continent as a strategic priority.
On Thursday, at the ninth triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, Chinese leader Xi Jinping also pledged to deepen China’s military commitment, announcing 1 billion yuan ($141 million) in military assistance to train 6,000 military personnel and another 1,000 law-enforcement officers in Africa.
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