As published for The Roosevelt Room:

Secretary of State Clinton would have been forgiven if she had to cut short or postpone her eleven-day, seven nation visit to Africa. With foreign policy flare-ups in Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and a North American summit this week, few would have blamed her — in fact few would have noticed.

Instead, she is in the midst of visiting African nations that rarely warrant attention from American media unless accompanied by photos of conflict or acute human suffering: Kenya, South Africa, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde.

So Clinton’s visit to these diverse countries — following President Obama’s visit to Ghana last month — sends an important signal about America’s strong commitment to the fate of the continent.

Clinton’s message, supporting the theme President Obama addressed in Ghana, is balanced and it’s the right one: America will partner with and support those African nations that take responsibility to fight corruption, invest in the health, education and well-being of their citizens, cooperate in countering security threats, and promote democracy, human rights and economic freedom.

As David Lane, CEO of the Africa advocacy organization, the ONE Campaign, described Clinton’s message, “It’s a two-way street and African leaders have to be responsive to their people. They have to govern justly and invest in their people. And that’s an implicit bargain as the U.S. Provides resources for development.”

Standing in counterpoint to that message of reform and responsibility is China, promising cash with no questions asked in exchange for access to Africa’s vast energy and mineral wealth.

There’s a myopic view that the U.S. strategy of engagement with Africa puts U.S. firms at a disadvantage. In fact, it’s likely this year China will overtake the United States as the largest external investor in Africa, so the belief is that U.S firms are losing out.

They’re wrong. In an Africa dominated by strong-man kleptocrats, China’s strategy might work for time. But that’s not the Africa of today where nations across the continent are increasingly embracing free and fair elections, building strong institutions and markets, enjoying a free press and a robust civil society.

China’s blind-eye efforts to “buy” Africa threaten to slow and disrupt this transformation in Africa, but China’s strategy is ultimately destined to fail. As citizens become greater equity stake holders in their governments — through democracy, the social contract, and liberal economic freedoms — they increase their ability to demand accountability.

By continuing to support this transformation the U.S is making an investment that will, over time, reap far greater rewards both for America’s interests and for Africa’s citizens.

The Obama/Clinton message isn’t new: for decades U.S. talking points expressed much the same commitment. After the tragedies of Somalia and Rwanda, President Clinton began to give life to the rhetoric with the historic trade pact, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

President Bush expanded AGOA, and then went further by revolutionizing America’s economic assistance programs for Africa through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, tripling the amount of aid, demanding verifiable results from the international institutions, and creating transformative programs to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.

The Obama Administration is building on the bipartisan momentum by reinforcing the emphasis on responsibility and accountability, and adding new, specific commitments, as with its focus on long-term investments in agriculture.

With her visit to Africa, Secretary Clinton is rightly reinforcing a stronger, more mature and what will ultimately be a more successful partnership with Africa.