Talks between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the United States to forge a “minerals-for-security” deal to help end violence in the country may threaten China’s mining dominance, but analysts say there are still many challenges ahead.
In a proposal to cease hostilities in the country’s east, which worsened this year following the capture of strategic cities by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, Kinshasa has offered the US access to its vast mineral resources.
In exchange, the DRC is seeking security guarantees and military support from the US, and hopes to attract American investment to reduce its reliance on China.
Under the arrangement, Washington will use both diplomatic and economic tools to broker peace in exchange for critical minerals in the DRC, opening up a new battlefront with China, which dominates the mining industry in the Central African nation.
“President [Felix] Tshisekedi and I discussed a minerals deal and charted a path forward,” Massad Boulos, Donald Trump’s adviser for Africa, said last week at a briefing about his recent trip to Kinshasa.
Experts said the agreement with the DRC was potentially modelled on China’s 2007 “minerals-for-infrastructure” deal, where Chinese companies were to build infrastructure for the DRC in exchange for critical minerals – including copper and cobalt.
