China signed a $9 billion deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year to allow China access to the African country’s mineral resources. In return, China plans to invest (by way of Chinese contractors) in a new transportation network—a 1,000-mile road from the Zambian border to northeastern Congo. Infrastructure improvements such as this are coveted in the Congo, one of the poorest countries on the continent.
But China’s investment doesn’t come free; the loans coming from China will need to be paid back in copper, cobalt and road tolls. After that, the two countries will split the profits of Socomin, a new massive mining company, with Congo owning 32 percent and China owning 68 percent.
Concerns over transparency and corruption have left many skeptical of the deal—worrying that China’s billions could end up unaccounted for. Other foreign companies attempting to do business in the Congo have had to jump through far more hoops than China and have had to pay taxes and royalties that China doesn’t. Furthermore, Western companies must adhere to Congo’s mining code—a code that may or may not apply to the Chinese.
For a country in which mining has contributed largely to a slew of social and environmental abuses, (not to mention the country’s second civil war), resource extraction from new mines in the Congo could open up a whole new can of worms. This remains to be seen. But one thing seems clear. The deal has secured a strong foothold on the African continent for China and the Congo may just be getting the short end of the stick.
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