China's zero-tariff access for Africa's least developed countries kicked in this week, a senior Chinese diplomat said, just as U.S. President Joe Biden visits Angola. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT China and the United States have jostled for influence in Africa,

Biden's visit to oil-rich Angola seeks to underline an attempt by America to focus more on trade and heavy investment in infrastructure, in what some analysts see as the most direct counter yet to China’s influence on the continent. "It’s a perfect marriage of convenience," Angolan analyst Edmilson Angelo told the BBC.