China has faced withering criticism in the DR Congo over the past year that it has failed to live up to the promises it made to build infrastructure in exchange for access to the country’s vast mineral and metal resources.
So, part of the purpose of Ambassador Zhu Jing’s weekend tour through the southern mining zones of Katanga and Lualalaba provinces was to make the case that China has, indeed, followed through on its commitment to build facilities like the new l’Hôpital de Référence in the Katanga capital city of Lubumbashi.