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China’s Role in the Complex, Brutal History of Cobalt Mining in the DR Congo

The New Yorker magazine published a sweeping long-form article in its latest edition that delves into the painful history of Congolese cobalt -- a metal that is now indispensable for any consumer who owns a mobile phone and a strategic resource that is in the ...

China’s Ambassador to the DRC Hints the Country May Once Again Be at the Center of a Great Power Struggle

Chinese ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zhu Jing, posted a somewhat cryptic tweet earlier this week that suggested the DRC may once again be at the center of a great power struggle, this one, he implied between the United States and China.

Conservatives in the U.S. Say Biden’s Energy Policies Would Expose the U.S. to Become “Dependent Upon China and Its Client States in the Congo”

Apparently, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a "client state" of the Chinese government, or at least according to the latest meme to emerge on conservative U.S. media sites like Fox News. China's dominance in the DRC cobalt mining sector is prompting some to worry that a ...

Anti-Colonialism Remains a Central Tenant of China’s Engagement in Africa

Colonialism and imperialism are the kinds of subjects that students in the U.S. and Europe study in school, framed within the assumption that they have very little applicability in contemporary geopolitics. But for the Chinese, these issues remain very close to the surface and make up a ...

“I Have Had Enough!” DRC President Étienne Tshisekedi Hints He’s Ready to Take on Chinese Investors Over Unfair Contracts

DR Congo President Étienne Tshisekedi ventured to the heart of the country's cobalt mining territory to personally deliver a warning to foreign investors (read Chinese) that unfair mining contracts are going to be re-negotiated. On Thursday, the president traveled to the city of Kowlezi in the southern ...

Chinese Automakers Are Making New Inroads Across Africa

Geely, China's largest independent automaker, launched its new Coolray SUV in Nigeria in what's become a big push by Chinese auto companies to expand their presence in Africa. The SUV category is especially popular, as evidenced by the strong performance in South ...

Booming Chinese Demand for African Metals and Minerals Pushes Prices to Record Highs

These are good days for Africa's metals and mineral exporters, who are seeing record prices thanks to strong demand, in part, from China and international automakers that produce new energy vehicles. The timing for this latest "commodity supercycle," ...

The DRC Wants to Renegotiate Some of Its Chinese Contracts. Hopefully, for Their Sake, They Read the Fine Print.

DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi apparently wants to renegotiate some of the contracts that his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, signed with the Chinese, according to a report by Africa Intelligence.  Argentina too, like the DRC, tried to ...

The Stuff That Goes Into Making a Battery For Electric Vehicles is Getting a Lot More Expensive

Prices for the key commodities needed to produce electric vehicle batteries have been rallying all year on stronger demand for new energy vehicles. They spiked in recent days, following the U.S.-led summit on climate change that took place online last week. ...

Demand for EV Battery Materials is Surging Putting Renewed Focus on Where These Strategic Resources Come From and China’s Role in Processing Them

With new electric-powered sports cars like Ford's Mach-E and Audi's e-tron Quattro selling well, demand is surging for the strategic minerals and metals that are used to make the batteries in those vehicles. Sales of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite 

The Road to a Clean Energy Future Runs Through the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The former President of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jeanine Mabunda Lioko, wrote an impassioned appeal for the world to recognize the important contribution that the DRC will make to the world as it moves into the post-carbon era, largely from the use of DRC-mined ...

Chinese Embassies, Ambassadors Stay Largely Quiet on the China CDC Director’s Vaccine Efficacy Controversy

China's normally bombastic diplomatic Twitter accounts in Africa were uncharacteristically silent on Monday with regards to the controversy that broke out over the weekend when Gao Fu, the director of the China CDC, acknowledged that Chinese vaccines are not as effective as the Pfizer and Moderna jabs. ...
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