Is China-US competition driving the Africa proposal in the UN? 

FILE - The U.N. Security Council meets on the situation in Sudan, at United Nations headquarters, July 13, 2023. For years, numerous African leaders have called for the continent to have representation on the Security Council, which has just five permanent members.

This week at U.N. meetings in New York, the United States said that two African countries should have permanent seats on one of the world’s major decision-making bodies, the United Nations Security Council.