The dawn of the age of Trump and his “America First” foreign policy has further fueled the discussion about the end of the unipolar moment and the United States of America’s declining hegemony in world affairs. At the same time, China has strengthened its global hegemonic ambitions by steadily becoming more assertive and intensifying its signature foreign-policy project “One Belt, One Road”. One of the most crucial arenas for the competition between the two nations is the African continent. This paper examines if the hegemonic position of the U.S. on the African continent is in decline and if so, to what extent. Since power and economic wealth are always relative this paper will also look at China’s power potential and hegemonic ambitions in Africa. Starting point for the analysis is the definition of the concepts of power and hegemony in international politics. Examining not only common indicators like military strength, GDP, Official Development Assistance and other financial commitments, the paper also considers soft factors, like the appeal of the Western vis-á-vis Chinese development models for countries in Africa. By using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data this paper not only identifies the strategies and instruments the U.S. and China use in their quest for hegemony on the African continent but it also sheds light on the different development approaches and how they are being perceived by recipient countries. Preliminary findings suggest that although China is becoming a serious competitor to the current hegemonic order in Africa, the power potential of the U.S. is far from declining.
