France, Oct. 31 -- Addressing African leaders in Moscow, Russia's President Vladimir Putin described a partnership with Russia as an alternative to traditional allies - who he referred to as a "narrow bloc of states" which determine "the destinies of entire continents".

This narrative of breaking away from old allies or former colonial powers is one that has also been deployed by China. However, Chinese trade with African countries dwarfs Russia's - at $348 billion recorded in 2025 compared to $27 billion.

Priyal Singh, a geopolitical analyst at risk advisory firm Signal Risk and senior research consultant at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, told RFI why the two powers cannot be compared in terms of their relationship...