The president of the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, is scheduled to visit China from May 24 to 29 for meetings with President Xi Jinping.
The two countries must meet in order to finalize a $6 billion infrastructure-for-minerals deal with Chinese investors. The announcement was made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday
Tshisekedi instructed his government to continue talks on the deal with Chinese counterparts after the DRC government and other stakeholders “consolidated their position” on May 19, according to a DRC government statement.
He reported to the cabinet that a task force investigating the deal had submitted its findings, opening the door to discussions with Chinese partners in the coming days.
The two heads of state will meet and participate in a signing ceremony for cooperation documents while in China, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo is an important country in Africa, and friendship between China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a long history,” Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference.
On issues that directly affected their primary interests and priorities, they have always had each other’s back. According to Mao, “practical cooperation between China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has yielded fruitful results,” and “political mutual trust between the two countries has been continuously deepening” in recent years.
Tshisekedi will also meet with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, Zhao Leji, in addition to Premier Li Qiang.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo mines the majority of the world’s supply of the battery material cobalt.
