The figures were announced on Wednesday, 30 September 2026 by China’s ambassador to the DRC, Zhao Bin, during a press conference held on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The diplomat presented these results as a “new summit” in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
A progression driven by minerals
The 2026 performance comes as trade between the two countries had exceeded 17.2 billion dollars in the first eight months of 2025, according to data presented last year by the same diplomat. In just seven months, the volume recorded this year has therefore already passed the 19 billion dollar threshold.
The Congolese trade surplus, estimated at 10.6 billion dollars, rests mainly on mining exports. China remains a major outlet for copper and cobalt produced in the DRC, two strategic resources for industrial chains linked in particular to batteries and electric vehicles.
According to Zhao Bin, the DRC remains the leading destination for Chinese investments in Africa and is among Beijing’s three main trading partners on the continent. He also states that Chinese companies created more than 120,000 direct jobs in the DRC in 2025 and contributed more than 4 billion dollars to tax revenues. These figures have not, however, been confirmed by independent Congolese sources.
Beijing encourages diversification
Since 1 May 2026, China has applied a zero-tariff regime to several products originating from 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations, including the DRC. Beijing is thus encouraging Kinshasa to increase its non-mining exports to the Chinese market.
For the DRC, the challenge now is to derive more value from this trade relationship. Dependence on minerals exposes the economy to fluctuations in international prices and to the concentration of outlets. The local processing of copper and cobalt, as well as the diversification of exports, therefore remain at the heart of the challenge of converting these trade records into added value and sustainable jobs.
Héritier Maila / Mines.cd
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