by Xinhua writer Zhu Shaobin
NAIROBI, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The first official visit to Africa by Rex Tillerson as top U.S. diplomat ended expectedly with him being fired by U.S. President Donald Trump, leaving Africa perplexed and dubious of the sincerity of U.S. diplomacy.
As African countries are still not over Trump's alleged "shithole" remarks against them, Tillerson's visit to five African nations including Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Chad and Nigeria last week was seen as a gesture to mend U.S.-Africa ties.
Tillerson had wanted to use the visit to deepen the United States' partnerships in Africa in areas including counter-terrorism, peace and security as well as trade and investment; however, this has become even more uncertain with his sacking.
Kenya-based newspaper The Standard on Wednesday described Tillerson's firing as a "dramatic" end to his 14-month tenure in a report that also pointed out the unusualness of Tillerson's visit to Africa because he had suspended his itinerary due to "illness" while in Kenya and cut short his trip in Africa because of other more urgent work.
John Campbell, an Africa scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations, told a U.S. media outlet that Trump's sacking of the top U.S. diplomat could be interpreted as "another example of the administration disrespecting Africa."
"I don't know how the Africans are going to take that," Campbell was quoted as saying.
"Tillerson ouster troubling on many fronts," Joe Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, wrote in a Twitter post Tuesday. "Rude, disrespectful treatment of a loyal supporter, dumping him while representing America abroad, during his trip to Africa."
According to long-time Africa and international relations researchers in China, Africa has been marginalized in the Trump administration's foreign policy, and the situation will likely remain so during his time in office.
The marginalization could be mirrored through Trump cutting foreign aid for Africa as well as the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, to which African nations attach great importance, said Li Wentao, Institute of African Studies Director at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
In a different perspective, Liu Hongwu, an Africa researcher at Zhejian Normal University, said that Tillerson's visit to Africa has been more about formality than concrete results.
Apart from his announcement of 533 million U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid for Ethiopia and some other African countries, Liu said, Tillerson's visit to Africa has not raised specific measures benefiting the continent. Given the latest development, it looks that the aid amount is yet to be finalized.
Abebe Aynete, a senior researcher with Ethiopian Foreign Relations Strategic Studies Institute, said Tillerson and Trump come from a business background, and they see U.S. relations with the rest of the world as transactional.
It's unclear whether Tillerson's visit will show a clearer U.S. global diplomatic strategy. So far, it appears that the trip by the embattled Tillerson has failed to achieve just that, Aynete added.
