Perhaps. But has the US or anyone in Europe ever actually done that? Usually an invasion is due to terrorism, human rights violations, or violation of international law, not because of unpaid dues. If you look at pretty much every country the US has invaded, the US invested a ton into rebuilding and then left (some cases were handled better than others). I don’t think anyone in either region really wants to inherit Africa’s problems.

All major powers want access to natural resources, so Africa should recognize the position it’s in and be very hesitant to give up anything other than guaranteed trade agreements (i.e. allow sponsors first dibs on X% of total production for Y years or something) in exchange for assisting them in building their own infrastructure (i.e. Africans run the project, sponsors merely share knowledge).

So I sincerely hope the deal between the AU and China (or any other countries they’re courting) are beneficial to Africa and not just beneficial to the people in charge.