WEEK IN REVIEW: China and Zambia’s Landmark Debt Deal

After nearly two years of painful, drawn-out negotiations, Zambia finally closed a deal to restructure its bilateral external debt. The announcement was made last week at a global development finance summit in Paris and the new agreement is widely seen as ...

Why Are DRC Officials Backtracking on Tshisekedi’s Beijing Trip?

We asked China Global South Francophone Africa Editor and DRC political analyst Geraud Neema to explain attempts by DRC officials to reframe President Félix Tshisekedi's lackluster trip to Beijing. Why were the ministers so emphatic that they didn't go to China ...

Advice for African Leaders on How to Manage Newfound Lithium Wealth in the Era of Great Power Competition

Lithium production in Africa is expected to jump fourfold in the next ten years as demand surges for the metal needed to build batteries for electric vehicles. While that may produce another resource boom in some countries, it also presents unique challenges, ...

It Worked For Nickel, So Why Not Tin? Indonesia Wants to Move Up the Value Chain by Blocking Exports of Raw Commodities

The Indonesian government plans to add tin bars to the growing list of commodities that it will ban for export as part of an ambitious effort to have more of these resources processed domestically. A similar ban that was ...

She’s Baaaaack! The Once Convicted “Galamsey Queen” is Arrested Again For Illegal Mining in Ghana

Aisha Huang made a stunning reappearance in Ghana this week when she appeared in an Accra circuit court with three accomplices to face charges of illegal mining. Huang is one of the most famous characters in Ghana's years-long effort to combat ...

Why the U.S. Shouldn’t Be Surprised About China’s Close Ties With DRC Mining Companies

U.S. officials in Washington and Kinshasa are apparently disappointed, according to a new investigation by the Paris-based Africa Intelligence, that they’ve failed to dislodge China from its dominance of the Congolese mining industry, particularly in strategically important metals like cobalt.

It Was a Bad, Very Bad Week For Chinese Mining in Africa

Two of China's largest and most important mining ventures in Africa encountered major problems this week. In Guinea, the government shut down the Sino-Australian joint venture to operate the massive Simandou iron ore mine, a major blow to Beijing's ambitions to ...

Rampant Illegal Chinese Mining and Logging in Eastern DRC Drives Poverty and Empowers Ruling Elites, Says New Report

Illegal Chinese mining and timber companies are running rampant in the DRC's eastern province of South Kivu, fueling corruption that empowers ruling elites and impoverished local communities, according to a scathing new report by two researchers at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in ...

China Moving Quickly to Diversify Sourcing of Strategic Minerals and Metals With New Deals Announced in Africa, Asia and LatAm

With demand for the minerals and metals used to power electric vehicles far outstripping supply, China's largest mining companies are moving quickly to diversify their sourcing strategic resources including cobalt, nickel, lithium and rare earths among others. There's been a lot ...

A DRC-Government Affiliate Forcefully Refutes Congo Hold-Up Allegations, Calling the Report a “Western Conspiracy”

An agency affiliated with the DR Congo government issued its most forceful denunciation to date of the Congo Hold-Up investigative report that detailed massive corruption related to the $6 billion 2008 Sicomines deal. John Omombo (photo), spokesman for the ...

Millions of Leaked Bank Transactions Reveal Massive Corruption by the DR Congo’s Former President Kabila, Some Linked to Chinese Entities

A pair of blockbuster investigations have been published this month by separate organizations in France and the United States that detail how millions of dollars were illicitly siphoned out of the country by the former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila and his allies, including millions from Chinese ...

China, Africa and the Global Race to Source EV Battery Metals

Chinese automakers smashed another monthly record for production and sales of electric vehicles in October. Car companies produced just under 400,000 vehicles last month, up 133% from the same time last year and almost 10% from September, according to new data from the Chinese ...
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