In the turmoil of global commercial reconfigurations, Beijing is advancing its pawns. China announces the complete removal of tariffs on exports from 53 African countries, expanding preferential access to its market. Behind this gesture lies a targeted diplomatic offensive as Washington, under the leadership of Donald Trump, reactivates protectionist levers against the continent. Africa, long peripheral in geo-economic arbitration, is becoming the epicenter of a clash of influences where industrial ambitions, strategic alliances, and narratives of sovereignty intersect.