[THREAD] Ever since Félix Tshisekedi took power, Washington had hoped he would curb #China's huge influence in the country. Four years later, the United States is bitterly disappointed… 1/6
In March 2022, Amos Hochstein, an adviser to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, arrived in Lubumbashi. The mining city, which looks like a quaint rural town, is one of the places where cobalt, copper and a part of the world's energy future are traded. 2/7
Hochstein, who is said to be close to US President Joe Biden, is one of the people devising the new US strategy on the subject. He led the Bureau of Energy Resources under Obama, an office involved in the country's energy security. 3/7
In Lubumbashi, Hochstein enquired about the fight against child labour and fiscal transparency at Gécamines. But above all he was focused on the delicate question of the renegotiation of mining contracts. 4/7
The majority of current Congolese contracts were sealed under Kabila. Among those signed in vague circumstances with Chinese groups, the US is particularly interested in the Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine, a subsidiary of the Chinese group CMOC... 5/7
Washington wants to take advantage of its proximity to Tshisekedi to audit these contracts and reduce Beijing's influence. CMOC is suspected of deliberately underestimating the mine's available reserves in order to avoid paying royalties to its Congolese state partner. 6/7
How did these covert investigations take place? Why are US investments in the #DRC struggling to bear fruit? How has China managed to maintain its control over the majority of the mines? Read our in focus piece: africaintelligence.com/central-africa…
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