Jóvenes regresan de España en el paso fronterizo de Bab Sebta, cerca de Fnideq (Marruecos). Foto EFE / Jalal Morchidi

Mohamed Touali nadó varios kilómetros para intentar llegar a Ceuta. Foto: EFE

«Había muchos muertos»

JOHANNESBURG: The U.S. is beating China in a high-tech trade war over data centers in a fierce battle being waged across Africa.

Major new deals have been engineered in a public-private partnership between the Trump administration and U.S. companies in Africa, while States across the U.S. clamp down on the centers over their massive reliance on electricity.

The administration’s Bureau of African Affairs has reported it has worked on 37 commercial transactions that have closed since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term — representing $25.67 billion in total value, with more still being reported.

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Data centers are at the heart of today’s global economy — fueling the massive demand for AI and hosting everything from video streaming to housing cloud networks.

In Lesotho, with U.S. help, an American company has won a $6.2 billion deal for a data center and hydropower plant. It is the largest transaction in this Southern African country’s history.

In Gabon, the U.S. Embassy helped win $600 million in business for American companies in 2025. And this year, the embassy in this central African country has assisted in securing a $100 million contract to supply two data centers and a gas-to-power plant, in the face of strong competition from China.

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia told Fox News Digital, «Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States is assisting U.S. companies to find new markets and flourish in Africa.»

The main strategic competitor in Africa is China. While American goods traded with Africa last year were valued at $83.4 billion by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Beijing’s General Administration of Customs claimed bilateral trade between China and Africa reached $348 billion for the same period.

But Garcia called out China for giving African countries a raw deal, saying «there are others (notably China) that trap, coerce and undermine. The choice to me is clear — partner with the United States for prosperity.»

Rendering of the Kobong, Lesotho Pumped Hydro project, which is to be constructed in Lesotho by U.S. company Convalt Energy, as part of a $6.2 billion deal with the government of Lesotho facilitated with the assistance of the U.S. government.  (Convalt Energy)

To drive this initiative, the State Department, through the Bureau of African Affairs, launched the Commercial Diplomacy Strategy in early 2025, with Garcia telling Fox News Digital the U.S. «is working worldwide to advance a level playing field for U.S. companies and address disparities in trade practices.»

The playing fields in Lesotho are not level: Geographically because this is a mountain kingdom. Financially because China is historically deeply entrenched in life there. Beijing has dropped all tariffs on Lesotho’s exports. Payments between the two countries have been simplified, with Lesothans able to bank directly with the State-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Beijing has canceled debt on major projects in Lesotho, and among other major projects is building a new fire station, a solar power plant and even completed a police fingerprint examination laboratory.

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This makes it all the more remarkable that, with the administration’s help, primarily through the local embassy, U.S. company Convalt Energy has secured a $6.2 billion agreement with the government of Lesotho.

Garcia told Fox News Digital that the «project includes a 1,200MW pumped-storage hydropower facility and a 900MW AI data center, increasing Lesotho’s electricity generation capacity by approximately 1,600% and transforming the country into a net exporter of electricity. The project is expected to generate approximately $2 billion in U.S. energy equipment exports.»

Convalt Energy’s president and CEO, Hari Achuthan, in Lesotho at the site of where the new data center and pumping station will stand. July 29, 2026. (Convalt Energy)

Convalt Energy’s president and CEO, Hari Achuthan, told Fox News Digital how U.S. companies such as his are beating China on their traditional turf: «American companies can compete successfully by innovating faster, integrating hardware and software, and remaining intensely focused on the needs of the end customer.»

A new data center, Achuthan believes, is not only at the heart of the project, but is essential for any country’s growth. «The next major cycle of economic growth will increasingly be driven by artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and the energy systems required to support them. AI cannot scale without physical infrastructure. Every data center requires reliable power, water, fiber connectivity, land, cooling systems and resilient transmission infrastructure.»

«The Trump administration’s emphasis on trade and private-sector investment, rather than relying primarily on grant funding, is closely aligned with our approach in Africa,» Achuthan continued. «In Lesotho, we are pursuing a commercially sustainable infrastructure platform built around long-term investment, bilateral trade with a durable, sustainable operating business.»

«At the same time,» Achuthan added, «the project can create meaningful economic benefits in the United States. Convalt’s U.S. manufacturing facilities are being developed to serve domestic customers as well as international markets, particularly Africa, where demand for power, manufacturing capacity and digital infrastructure is growing rapidly.»

Rendering of U.S. company Cybastion’s projected data center in the Ivory Coast, West Africa. The U.S. Embassy in Abidjan helped facilitate a $170 million contract with the government of the Ivory Coast that includes the provision of the data center. (Cybastion)

The construction of two data centers is part of the $100 million deal Assistant Secretary Garcia says administration officials have helped American company Cybastion secure. Garcia added, «Notably, the U.S. company prevailed over Huawei (a Chinese company) in a direct competition for the project.»

Cybastion CEO Dr. Thierry Wandji believes U.S. companies can and are now coming to the fore. Earlier this month, the U.S. Embassy in the Ivory Coast confirmed an even larger deal for Cybastion. The $170 million contract will bring a data center, government digitalization platform and a cutting-edge border surveillance system to this West African country.

Wandji told Fox News Digital, «We believe we are the better option compared to other global competitors. Cybastion brings a unique understanding of the African context and local business environments.»

A recent site visit to the construction zone for a new data center in the Ivory Coast, which is part of a $170 million contract facilitated by the U.S. Embassy for development by the U.S. company Cybastion. (Clement Djakey for Cybastion)

«Africa has some of the world’s fastest-growing economies,» Wandji continued. «Across the continent, countries are prioritizing sovereign data centers, modernizing their government services through digitalization, and digital workforce development as part of their national development plans.

«The U.S. tech sector offers global competitiveness unparalleled to any country in the world,» Wandji added. «We deliver innovation, transparency and accountability in our business offerings, while creating new markets for U.S. companies.»

Convalt’s Achuthan told Fox News Digital what’s working for U.S. business in Africa, «American companies must clearly communicate the value of quality, transparency, safety, responsible business practices and long-term community partnership. Competing solely on price is not enough going forward. Companies from the United States should compete on performance, reliability, innovation, institutional trust and the ability to create sustainable local economic benefits.»

President Donald Trump’s effort to remake the Smithsonian is reaching the institution’s bottom line, with the administration proposing its smallest budget request in years while pushing to eliminate what it calls «woke» ideology from federally funded museums and programs.

A Fox News Digital analysis of Smithsonian budget requests found the institution submitted steadily larger funding requests during the Biden administration, with annual requests rising from $1.11 billion in fiscal year 2021 to a record $1.24 billion in fiscal year 2024.

The fiscal year 2025 request also exceeded $1 billion before the Trump administration proposed reducing the institution’s request below that threshold in its fiscal year 2026 and 2027 budgets—the first time since fiscal year 2020 that the Smithsonian’s annual request has fallen below $1 billion.

The proposed funding reduction comes as the White House expands one of its most ambitious efforts to reshape a federally funded cultural institution, arguing the Smithsonian has promoted ideological narratives at odds with its mission and directing it to change its exhibits, programming, leadership and spending priorities.

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The White House’s effort to root out what it calls «woke» ideology at the Smithsonian has grown into one of the most extensive reviews of the institution in decades.

Over the past 16 months, the administration has examined museum exhibits, educational programming, internal records and leadership statements, issued multiple document requests, interviewed curators and conducted on-site museum walkthroughs.

That review culminated in a 162-page White House report recommending sweeping reforms and a new round of executive actions aimed at implementing those recommendations.

The administration has ordered the Smithsonian to promote what it describes as a more accurate portrayal of American history while scrutinizing exhibits, programming and leadership across the museum complex.

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The Smithsonian, the nation’s largest museum and research complex, is at the center of a White House campaign to overhaul its presentation of American history. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)

The Smithsonian oversees 21 museums, the National Zoo and nearly 157 million objects and specimens while receiving more than $1 billion annually in federal funding, in addition to private donations and other trust revenue.

The taxpayer-supported institution has become the latest battleground in a broader national debate over patriotism, historical interpretation and the role of federally funded cultural institutions in shaping how Americans understand the nation’s past.

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Whether Congress adopts the administration’s proposed funding levels remains to be seen.

But alongside executive orders, museum reviews and a sweeping White House report, the budget proposal signals that the administration intends to use both policy and federal funding to reshape one of the nation’s largest cultural institutions.

The Smithsonian Institute did not immediately respond to Fox New Digital’s request for comment.