Politics could be at play in the latest falling-out between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chinese companies over a US$6 billion minerals-for-infrastructure deal signed more than a decade ago that Kinshasa says was poorly negotiated and favoured the Chinese side.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi will be seeking re-election on December 20, and observers say the DRC government is stepping up pressure on Sicomines, a joint venture by the DRC and Chinese companies, to force the renegotiation of the deal signed in 2008 as part of a plan to use the infrastructure projects as a campaign tool.
The DRC’s General Inspectorate of Finance released a report last week that said the DRC was yet to benefit from the deal.
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Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3211192/chinese-controlled-copper-and-cobalt-mining-joint-venture-being-turned-political-pawn-congo
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