The European Union hopes a €150 billion ($172 billion) investment package announced on Friday with leaders of the African Union can deepen ties with the continent and fend off competing interests from China. Praising the Brussels summit outcome, European Council President Charles Michel said there was “a new ambitious spirit” in the relationship between the EU and the African Union. The president of the African Union, Macky Sall, said there was “a historic opportunity to look at the basis of a new kind of partnership” between the EU and Africa. The package aims to mobilize billions of euros to…