COP30 stumbled to a close with a voluntary pledge so weak that it practically invites abuse. But the biggest losers were not the absent United States or the wavering European Union. They were the African countries whose climate future is increasingly shaped by decisions made far beyond their borders, whether that’s in Washington or Beijing. Right now, it’s China’s grip on Africa’s future that matters most. While the world focused on a voluntary pledge that avoided even naming fossil fuels,