New front in US-China rivalry opens, this time in Congo’s copper and cobalt mining heartland.

Talks between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the United States over a proposed “minerals-for-security” pact could threaten China’s long-standing dominance in the central African nation’s mining industry, though analysts warn the path ahead is fraught with complexity.

Kinshasa has offered Washington access to its vast mineral wealth as part of a broader plan to end violence in the country’s east, where fighting has intensified this year after the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group seized strategic cities. In return, the DRC is seeking security guarantees and military support, with hopes that a closer partnership with the US will also encourage American investment and lessen its economic reliance on China.

Under the proposal, the US would deploy diplomatic and economic levers to help broker peace, while gaining access to critical minerals — a move that could reshape competition with China, which currently dominates mining operations across the DRC.

Source: Firstpost