LOMÉ, TOGO — The relationship between the Central African Republic and China has deteriorated in recent years. Although Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, Chinese business operations in Central Africa, especially in mining, face enormous challenges. Chinese companies have been accused of violating local laws, not cooperating with local governments, and even colluding with rebel groups, which has exacerbated the local situation.
Violence and conflict in the mining industry
The Central African Republic is rich in mineral resources, attracting a large amount of foreign investment, especially from Chinese companies. However, an ongoing civil war and rebel group activities make the mining industry dangerous. In recent years, Chinese nationals and their local employees in the mining industry have frequently encountered kidnappings, injuries and even deaths. Rebel groups and personnel from the Russian Private Military Company (PMC), formerly known as the Wagner Group (now called the “African Legion”), have been accused of being involved in these violent incidents.
Furthermore, the U.S. and France have sought to increase their presence in the Central African Republic to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the country and the region, though with limited success. While the Chinese government has condemned the mistreatment of Chinese nationals in the Central African Republic, Chinese mining companies have faced accusations of collaborating with rebels, withholding employee salaries, and ignoring mining regulations set by local authorities.
According to reports from governments and non-governmental organizations, Chinese companies frequently violated local mining regulations and authorities have revoked their operation licenses on multiple occasions. In June of last year, the Central African Republic government suspended Chinese company Daqing SARL’s operations in the southern town of Mingala, accusing it of collaborating with armed militias, engaging in illegal mining and evading taxes.
The Mingala region, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has experienced years of turbulence. While the conflict between the Central African Armed Forces and the rebel group Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) has recently subsided, past clashes were intense, leading to significant civilian casualties, though exact figures remain difficult to confirm.
Tensions between Central Africa and China
“In fact, we should perhaps separate the relationship between Bangui and Beijing from the reality of the mining sector managed by the Central African authorities,” explained Charles Bouëssel, a researcher on Central Africa at the International Crisis Group. “Chinese mining companies operating in Central African Republic often do not comply with the law, particularly mining laws, partly due to the high level of corruption. Chinese companies sometimes also compete with the Russian African Legion, which conducts large-scale mining and may play a role in suppressing Chinese companies' local operations. However, it is clear that these incidents involving Chinese nationals harm the image of the Central African Republic, further highlighting the country’s reputation as a highly dangerous place for doing business.”
In recent years, Central African authorities have repeatedly sanctioned Chinese mining companies, in part due to their failure to comply with environmental regulations. Pollution and poor working conditions in mining sites, especially in artisanal mining, pose serious health and environmental threats to local residents. Women and children often work in hazardous mining areas that are often unregulated.
Aurelio Gazzera, an Italian missionary who has lived in the Central African Republic for more than 15 years, decided to conduct an investigation by documenting the work of a Chinese company. A few months ago, a Chinese company began mining for gold in the area. However, the environmental and human harm caused by the excavation process could pose serious risks to local residents.
“In Central Africa, almost the entire mining industry involves artisanal miners who do not take necessary precautions while excavating,” Gazzera said. “There are even women and children working in many mining areas, and these places are basically unregulated after initial mining, leading to pollution.” Besides gold and diamonds, Chinese have been exploring the northeastern part of the country for some time in an attempt to drill unstable oil fields in the region.
Foreign powers compete for influence
Countries like the U.S. and France are also competing for influence in the Central African Republic, aiming to counter Chinese and Russian expansion by engaging in the mining industry, but their efforts have yielded little success.
On a recent local program, Radio Ndeke Luka, U.S. Ambassador to the Central African Republic Patricia Mahoney acknowledged the presence of the American private military company Bancroft Global Development in the country, but she stated that the U.S. government was not involved in its presence, and will not take responsibility for it.
Rwandans, Russians, Central African government forces, and U.N. soldiers have been able to gain some control over the situation. “We have a Chinese company in the timber industry 15 kilometers from here,” said a local resident working for a Chinese company in the southwestern forest area of Monasao, near the Cameroon border. “There is another Chinese company looking for gold and diamonds 30 kilometers from us.”
The dilemma of Central African mining
The mining industry in the Central African Republic is rife with violence. In mid-May 2023, an armed group attacked a Chinese mine in the southwestern village of Gaga, resulting in at least four workers' deaths. In August of the same year, gunmen attacked a gold mine operated by Chinese firms, killing nine Chinese nationals and injuring two. In 2020, local residents led an uprising against a Chinese-operated mine in Sosso Nakombo, resulting in the deaths of two Chinese nationals. In 2018, three Chinese citizens were killed by angry community members after a local leader died in a boating accident while accompanying Chinese miners to a site.
Despite Touadéra’s efforts to stabilize the country, rebel groups remain active, particularly in border regions near Chad. While security has improved in some areas, foreign investors continue to face considerable risks and must depend on armed security to maintain their operations.
