The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, is making a landmark trip to Beijing the week. It comes amid ongoing controversy both domestically and internationally, about the economic dominance of massive Chinese investments in the central African country.
Tshisekedi is running for reelection this year, which means that domestic pressure for concrete payoffs from China’s long centrality in the DRC’s economy is increasing. But this is just one challenge facing him in Beijing.