Why an African leader says he has no problem borrowing from China

The polarising long-time president of Rwanda, who has led his country's post-genocide revival, feels disturbed by superpower rivalry.

- Bhavan Iaipragas

Rwandan President Paul Kagame's lamentations over the US-China rivalry sound more like those of an Asian leader caught up in this power struggle than the head of a small, landlocked African nation far from the Pacific.

Yet his insistence that this rivalry be treated as a top priority is a stark reminder of just how deeply the superpowers' jostling for influence is reverberating across Africa.

(The US-China rivalry) worries me, someone from Rwanda and Africa, it worries and disturbs the world," Mr Kagame told The Straits Times in an interview on Sept 21.

Our wide-ranging conversation came on the heels of his appearance at the Milken Asia Summit, meetings with Singapore leaders, and just two weeks after a three-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and over 50 African leaders.

Bespectacled and gangly, still bearing a hint of steeliness from his days as the rebel leader who overthrew Rwanda's genocidal regime in 1994, Mr Kagame, 66, lights up when talk turns to superpower rivalry - it is clearly on his mind.

Yet he remains composed, speaking in measured, carefully crafted paragraphs that deftly sidestep any overt criticism of the West or an obvious tilt towards China.

Listening to him dissect geopolitics offers a window into the mindset of African economies caught in the delicate dance between Western aid - still crucial for Rwanda - and China's alluring financial and trade largesse.

To shield Rwanda's modest US$13 billion (S$16.7 billion) economy from geopolitical shocks, Mr Kagame outlined a strategy that mirrors those of Beijing-leaning Asian leaders: seeking refuge in the Brics grouping, which includes China and Russia and positions itself as a counterweight to Western dominance.