China has urged the international community to tackle the underlying causes of the war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, stressing that the illicit extraction of natural resources remains one of the main drivers of instability across the Great Lakes region.
Speaking before the United Nations Security Council, Chinese Ambassador and Permanent Representative Fu Cong noted that “the conflict in eastern DRC continues and the Ebola outbreak has resurfaced, further worsening the security and humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” He called on global actors to work together to reverse the current trend as quickly as possible.
The Chinese diplomat emphasised the need to address the economic roots of the conflict.
“The root causes of the conflict must be taken in hand swiftly and thoroughly. The abundant natural resources of the DRC should have been the basis for national development, but they are being looted by armed groups and trafficked, which is the source of the conflict,” the Chinese representative declared on Friday, June 26.
Beijing believes that stronger governance of the mining sector is a critical tool for restoring peace. To that end, Fu Cong stated that “China supports the countries of the region in their efforts to establish transparent and inclusive mining cooperation in order to break this spiral of illicit trade.”
The Chinese ambassador also called on the Security Council to reinforce its support for regional initiatives. According to him, “the Council should support regional organisations and mechanisms to enhance transparency and traceability in the exports of these resources.”
Fu Cong then urged external players to adopt a more cooperative approach.
“Major powers that do not belong to the region should refrain from treating natural resources as a bargaining chip in solving regional problems. We must promote open cooperation, without a zero-sum logic, so that populations benefit from the development and exploitation of natural resources,” he stressed.
For more than three decades, war and instability in eastern DRC have been closely tied to economic predation. Control of several strategic mining sites, particularly Rubaya, by armed groups including the AFC/M23 fuels illicit mineral flows to neighbouring countries. Congolese authorities say this deprives the state of substantial tax revenues and severely hampers economic development in the eastern provinces. The government has long maintained that the conflict is primarily an “economic war” waged by Rwanda through what it calls “proxies,” an accusation Kigali consistently denies.
To help resolve the crisis, the United States facilitated the signing of the Washington Agreement between the DRC and Rwanda. That text aims to address both security concerns and the economic dimensions of natural resource exploitation. However, implementation has fallen short of expectations, with Kinshasa and Kigali each accusing the other of failing to honour commitments and interpreting key clauses differently.
The same pattern is visible in the Doha process, led by Qatar, which seeks to foster direct dialogue between the Congolese government and the AFC/M23. Despite several rounds of talks, meaningful progress remains elusive, and the security situation on the ground has changed little.
