Critical Minerals at Risk: U.S. Interests in an Unstable DRC
Virtual Salon, Members-only Briefing
Thursday, November 19, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:15 PM ET
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) holds some of the world’s largest cobalt and copper reserves, and the U.S. has moved quickly to secure access to them. The December 2025 U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement opened the door to new American investment, as U.S. companies position themselves against Chinese firms that have long dominated Congolese mining. Yet the conditions underpinning that investment are shifting. President Félix Tshisekedi’s push for a constitutional change that would allow him a third term threatens a political crisis in Kinshasa. Meanwhile, an agreement between the M23 rebellion and the militant faction of former President Joseph Kabila adds strain to an already volatile security landscape. Together, these developments could reshape the DRC’s risk profile and the calculations of American investors.
What is the current state of U.S.–DRC relations? How does political uncertainty within the Democratic Republic of the Congo affect U.S. interests, both in the country itself and in the broader Central African region? How is the competition over the DRC’s critical minerals shaping the interests of China and the United States? What steps can the United States take to counter China’s influence over the DRC’s critical minerals sector?
Join us on Thursday, November 19 from 12:00 to 1:15 PM ET for a conversation with Mr. Christian-Géraud Neema, nonresident scholar in the Carnegie Africa Program and Africa Editor at the China-Global South Project. This conversation will explore how political instability and a shifting security landscape in the DRC could affect U.S. investment in critical minerals, and whether China stands to gain if American investors pull back.
Mr. Christian-Géraud Neema
Mr. Christian-Géraud Neema is a nonresident scholar in the Carnegie Africa Program. He is an expert analyst on China-Africa relations. Currently, he serves as the Africa editor of the China-Global South Project. He is a frequent commentator and contributor on China’s engagement in the mining sector in Africa and the political economy of the mining sector of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for various international media and research institutions. Previously he has worked as a project manager for a Congolese mining company in the DRC and as a consultant on good governance and policy advocacy for a Jesuit research center in the same country.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Politics from Renmin University of China and a master’s degree in International Development from the International University of Japan. His research focused on natural resources revenue management in resources-rich countries. He is also an associate at ECDPM, working with its EU foreign and development policy and African economic integration teams.
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