Europe, US racing to challenge China's dominance over vital African minerals market, but will they succeed?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

57% : At the October 25-26 forum, the US and the EU also agreed to help Angola, the DRC and Zambia develop the "Lobito Corridor" - a transport link that will connect southern DRC and northwest Zambia to regional and global trade markets via the Angolan port city of Lobito.
56% : The US Department of State said: "The new rail line, connecting northwest Zambia to the Lobito Atlantic Railway and the Port of Lobito, represents the most significant transport infrastructure that the United States has helped develop on the African continent.
56% : Since the DRC is refining copper, currently listed as a critical mineral by the EU and the US, the Lobito Corridor would be useful to deliver supplies directly to Europe.
54% : On the margins of the Global Gateway Forum, the EU signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the DRC and Zambia to develop the critical and strategic raw materials value chains.
53% : Now both countries are being courted by the EU and America.
53% : Christian-Geraud Neema, a Congolese mining and policy analyst, said the US and EU are working on building and developing new supply chains and routes to serve their markets.
52% : "To avoid supply chain disruptions, whether due to external shocks as we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic or due to weaponisation of the EU's dependence as we learned in the case of Russia, the EU is actively investing in third countries, including in Africa, to secure access to critical raw materials," she said.Carlos Lopes, a professor at the Univer­sity of Cape Town's Nelson Mandela School of Public Govern­ance, said China's early and comprehensive involvement in Africa had enabled it to not only secure critical minerals but also establish economic and political influence through trade agreements, investments and infrastructure development.
50% : Meanwhile the EU and US continue to talk up the transport corridor.
50% : "At the forum, the EU also signed another deal - this time with Namibia on raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen, supported by €1 billion in investments.
46% : Hence, the funding of the corridor can be seen as a global approach from the EU and the US to create and develop their own alternative supply chain of critical minerals out of that region, according to Neema, who is also the francophone editor at the China Africa Project.
45% : The deal with the EU and the US includes the building of the Zambia-Lobito railway link.

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