U.S-African Leaders Summit Opens in Washington.

Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Chief Lloyd Austin, joined several key leaders from Africa to discuss peace, security and governance issues at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Tuesday.

The Biden administration’s three-day gathering is bringing in leaders from 49 African nations and the African Union for high-level talks.

During the discussion, Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, spoke about how the terrorist group, al-Shabaab, controlled large portions of Somalia’s rural areas.

“Shabaab, or terrorists anywhere they are, cannot be defeated militarily only,” he said.

African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said the U.S. is providing bilateral support to a number of African countries, including Niger, Mozambique, Somalia and Chad. But he said that African armies are still underequipped.

“No one is listening to the cries of Africa when it comes to the extension of this scourge,” he said.

The administration is hosting leaders and senior officials this week in a not-so-subtle pitch to compete with China on the continent. The aim is to convince its guests that the U.S. offers a better option to African partners.

“We want to understand what’s what’s really important to you,” said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

“We want to make sure that we are doing the things to develop and empower your security forces and help you work on your security architecture in ways that you think benefit you, and that certainly will promote regional stability.”

The continent, whose leaders often feel they’ve been given short shrift by leading economies, remains crucial to global powers because of its rapidly growing population, significant natural resources and the sizable voting bloc in the United Nations.

Africa remains of great strategic importance as the U.S. recalibrates its foreign policy with a greater focus on China — what the Biden administration sees as the United States’ most significant economic and military adversary.

Biden’s remarks, and the summit, aim to position the United States as a partner to African countries amid competition with China, which has sought to expand its influence by funding infrastructure projects on the continent and elsewhere. Chinese trade with Africa is about four times that of the United States, and Beijing has become an important creditor by offering cheaper loans – often with opaque terms and collateral requirements – than Western lenders. “When Africa succeeds, the United States succeeds. Quite frankly, the whole world succeeds as well,” the president said.

During a White House dinner honoring African leaders and their spouses, Biden addressed what he called America’s “original sin” – the enslavement of millions of people – and honored their descendants and the broader African diaspora community in the United States.

“Our people lie at the heart of the deep and profound connection that forever binds Africa and the United States together,” he said. “We remember the stolen men and women and children were brought to our shores in chains, subjected to unimaginable cruelty.”

The summit is the first of its kind since one in 2014 under President Barack Obama, himself the son of an African father. To kick it off, the Biden administration has pledged $55 billion for food security, climate change, trade partnerships and other issues. Biden is also expected to back the African Union’s admission as a permanent member of the Group of 20 major economies during Thursday’s summit events.