Chinese mining companies in Africa abide by laws and good practices

By Gerald Mbanda

Two stories again appeared in the Africa Defence Magazine (ADF) that criticized Chinese mining companies in Africa.  The first story ran under a headline, “More reports of Chinese Lithium mining company abuses in Namibia, involving bribery, corruption, human rights, and environmental abuses,”(April 29,2025). The second story also focusing on mining ran under the title, “troubles mount with Chinese mining in Zimbabwe.”

Both stories indicate with no doubt that Africa Defence Magazine Magazine is targeting to tarnish the image of Chinese mining companies in Africa especially those dealing in critical minerals.  As ADF clearly puts it, Namibia has significant lithium deposits, particularly in the Erongo region, and is emerging as a key part of the global market for the metal, which is crucial in producing batteries for electric vehicles and other applications.

It is not the first time that ADF magazine has attacked Chinese mining companies working in Africa. Several stories have been published about Chinese mining companies working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and several other African countries and the accusations are always similar in nature. Ironically, when the stories are published on ADF social media platforms such as X, they are categorized as paid for adverts and this raises questions of intent as well as credibility. 

A Chinese mining Company Xinfeng Investments a subsidiary of the Chinese firm Tangshan Xinfeng Lithium Industry, “whose facility in China’s Hebei province can produce 20,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium materials,” ADF magazine wrote.  The magazine further claims that, “locals have accused Xinfeng of exploiting their land, bribing traditional chiefs to evade proper permitting, mistreating local workers, damaging the area’s ecotourism industry and failing to deliver on promises to build processing facilities in Namibia.” It is clear that the US in particular, is using ADF stories to tarnish the image of Chinese mining companies in Africa to influence cancellation of mining contracts and award them to US and other western mining companies. It should be noted that Africa Defense Forum (ADF) magazine is published by U.S. Africa Command, whose stated objective is to provide an “international forum for African security professionals,” yet mining issues appear not to fall under this category.  The stories about China are politically motivated and serve US propaganda machine against China presence in Africa.

African countries produce critical minerals which are essential for modern    technologies like electric vehicles (EVs), mobile phone and renewable energy infrastructure. China currently dominates the refining and processing of many critical minerals, and the US is in a race to out compete China, but instead of engaging in health competition and acquisition of such critical minerals, unfortunately resorts to slanderous propaganda. In fact, The United States is significantly reliant on China for many critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements, due to China’s dominant role in their extraction and processing.

Today, China produces significantly more electric vehicles and batteries than the US, and has a larger share of global EV production. Official figures indicate that in 2024, China sold almost 13 million fully electric and hybrid vehicles accounting for about four times as many as the US sold.  The US is not comfortable with China at the forefront of controlling the global supply chains of critical minerals let alone using them for its own economic and strategic goals. The rise of China has always been seen as a threat to western hegemony especially that of the US.

Chinese companies before starting the mining process, they sign contracts in countries where they operate and all the rules and regulations are clearly indicated. The Chinese companies adhere by these rules, and any exception or violation of contractual obligation that may occur, is resolved between the two sides. Rather than resorting to character assassination of Chinese mining companies operating in Africa, the US must learn to engage African countries to compete with other countries that seek for critical minerals in Africa without tarnishing the image of China.

The author  is a researcher and publisher on China-Africa cooperation and development.