Leaders of African countries were in Beijing this week for the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, where President Xi Jinping is leading talks to strengthen economic ties. The summit is central to the Chinese leader's drive to continue expanding his nation's "influence on the continent amid a silent face-off with Western countries," said Al Jazeera. 

What does each side want? 
African countries are seeking investment and loans to help ease the crushing economic debts many are experiencing. In the past 20 years, "one in five infrastructure projects in Africa was financed by China," said The New York Times. African leaders are hoping to secure more funding at the three-day summit, which kicked off yesterday. 

For China, currying favor in Africa is a key step in its "climb to global superpower status," said Al Jazeera. Beijing aims to counter the reach of the U.S. and Europe by exercising influence in developing nations, particularly those on a continent rich in the raw materials used in the products that China makes and exports, including those back to Africa. 

What is China doing in Africa? 
Willingness to provide financing and infrastructure has kept Beijing in a favorable trading position in which it has essentially traded manufactured goods to acquire Africa's raw materials. But there has been little "technology and skills transfer" to the continent, Bhaso Ndzendze, a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Johannesburg, said at The Conversation. 

Is it working for both sides? 
The "lack of an African strategy" has left "imbalanced terms of trade," said Ndzendze. China has also faced criticism over its "free-flowing" funding, which has been "saddling countries with unsustainable debt" while strengthening Beijing's political influence, said CNN. 

African leaders may now push for a more even trade arrangement that helps to boost their countries' long-term economic sustainability and move them away from Chinese debt. But these nations often negotiate with Beijing individually, weakening their "bargaining power," Theo Neethling, a professor of political science at the University of the Free State in South Africa, said at The Conversation. Uniting as a bloc to "adopt a more coordinated approach" would strengthen their position, while a lack of unity will continue to allow China to "dictate the agenda."

Over the past several months, relatives of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, have publicly embraced Donald Trump, even as Trump's own nephew Fred joined his sister Mary in denouncing their infamous uncle. All the while, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s siblings — scions of perhaps the most iconic political dynasty in American history — have rejected not only their brother's own presidential campaign but also his subsequent endorsement of Trump. 

Can these family feuds make an electoral difference, or are they simply an opportunity for venting against a relative regardless of the political outcome? 

'A matter of political differences or something deeper'?
Jeff Walz, estranged conservative older brother to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has been publicly critical of his sibling. He has described himself on Facebook as "100% opposed to all his ideology," and is now "being wooed by Donald Trump and the MAGA World to commit the ultimate act of political defiance against his liberal brother," The Daily Beast said. 

While it is "certainly newsworthy" to investigate whether a family's opposition to their relative's campaign is "simply a matter of political differences or something deeper," the eagerness with which Donald Trump and his allies have jumped on the Walzes' discord suggest they truly "care about what the family of a candidate thinks," The Arizona Republic said. "Finally, that is."

'I think we all love each other'
Perhaps no family better embodies the perils of political divergence than the Kennedy clan, for whom the decision of brother Robert F Kennedy Jr. to suspend his campaign and endorse Trump for president come November amounted to a "betrayal" and a "sad ending to a sad story," according to an Instagram post by Kennedy's sister Kerry.  

The former candidate has seemed unbothered by his family's anguish, because, he said at Fox News, he and his siblings were "raised in a milieu where we were encouraged to debate each other and debate ferociously and passionately about things and still love each other."