This is true not only in African countries with "dictatorial or authoritarian regimes but in fact China's […] commonly shared roots with African nations […] has struck a chord even with those democratically elected leaders in Africa," allowing China access to even those countries that might at first glance appear to natural allies to the United States due to their democratic form of government.

Thus, Africa's colonial past has simultaneously meant that China has a natural cultural, historical, and ideological connection to the continent while any action by the United States is viewed with a degree of inherent suspicion and reluctance; the difficulty the United States has faced in developing close strategic and economic partnerships in the region is evidenced by the fact that it has yet to find a suitable host nation for AFRICOM, the U.S. military command on the continent, even amongst putative allies, at the same time...
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