The Democratic Republic of the Congo-China's Deals on Construction of Roads in Exchange of Mines

Abstract

After 32 years of dictatorship regime and a decade of various armed conflicts, the newly elected DRC government in 2006 was expected to receive US$4 billion from the traditional Western donors for reconstruction and development to help cement peace. Based on the issue of the lack of trust in the public institutions, the West failed to provide its promised aid following its conditionality. Alternatively, Joseph Kabila approached China to secure his cinq chantiers. Without prior conditionality on good- governance and human rights, China agreed to provide its financial support valued at US$ 9 billion in exchange for mines. Using historical and comparative methods, findings reveal that the Chinese presence in the DRC goes back to the colonial era of the 19th century. The conditionality for financial support seems inadequate for post-conflict countries in need of reconstruction. Also, the Chinese non-interference policy as an alternative to the western approach needs to be transparent. KEY WORDS: CHINESE POLICY, CINQ CHANTIERS, DRC, MINING DEALS, WESTERN CONDITIONALITY