The Battle Of The Economic Titans: Can  Africa Escape Unscathed? 

The US and China, two of the world's biggest superpowers, are currently in the midst of a trade war. The battle centres around the uneven trade deficit between the two countries. While Africa may not be a direct participant of the war, there is a risk of the continent getting caught in the crossfire.  The Titans At War   In 1995, the US-China trade deficit stood at around $45 billion in favour of China. By 2018, the trade deficit had reached approximately $420 billion.   The ballooning deficit triggered a response from the American administration which accused China of unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft.  Both parties threw words, tariffs and tweets in each other's direction. Truce talks have provided periodic calm periods in between the storm. Both economies have suffered in the process recording significant declines in exports, income and local business activity. The rest of the world has also been caught in the crosshairs.  Caught In The Crossfire  US tariffs triggered a drop in commodity prices that African countries rely on for export collections. This further rippled into currency drops and stock exchange dips. Forecasts by The African Development Bank have revealed that GDP could fall by 2.5% in commodity-driven African Countries and 1.9% in the oil-rich nations by 2021  With China being