The Sicomines Agreement: Change and Continuity in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s International Relations

The Sicomines agreement is a multibillion-dollar barter deal where a Chinese joint venture (Sicomines) received mining titles in the DRC's Katanga Province in exchange for constructing transport and social infrastructure funded by China Exim Bank loans. Originally signed in 2007 and renegotiated in 2009, the deal reflects a shift in global political economy and China's consolidated role as a foreign policy actor. The 2009 amendments, which reduced the infrastructure component to a maximum of $3 billion and removed the Congolese state guarantee for mining investments, aligned the agreement with the preferences of the IMF and World Bank. This shift was driven partly by China's own ambition to take a more active role within the IMF. While the investment benefits the DRC's mining sector, the ultimate value of the deal depends on the pricing and monitoring of the infrastructure projects, managed by the Congolese Agency for Public Works (ACGT).

• The Sicomines agreement was initiated by the state-owned enterprise (SOE) China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) as part of a diversification strategy into resource extraction, rather than by a direct order from the Chinese government.
• President Kabila's primary driver for the agreement was the need to fund his 'les Cinq Chantiers' (the five public works) flagship policy programme to ensure re-election in 2011, at a time when traditional donors and the IMF were unable or unwilling to provide such funding.
• The agreement's structure is a barter arrangement where the Sino-Congolese mining joint venture (Sicomines) is allocated mining titles in exchange for constructing public infrastructure, with loans from China Exim Bank reimbursed via mining profits.
• The 2009 renegotiation of the agreement reduced the infrastructure component to a maximum of $3 billion (down from an original $6.57 billion in the 2007 MOU) and removed the Congolese state guarantee for the commercial mining investment.
• China's willingness to renegotiate the agreement in 2009 was influenced by its ambition to be a responsible international actor and take a more active role in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• In its final 2009 form, the loans provided by China Exim Bank meet the OECD-DAC definition of Official Development Assistance (ODA) because the interest rate was reduced to 4.4%, resulting in a grant element estimated at at least 42%.
• The agreement is a stand-alone contract that was formulated in breach of the DRC's 2002 Mining Code, requiring a specific parliamentary law to recognize its special tax regime.
• The ultimate success of the deal for the DRC depends on the pricing and monitoring of infrastructure projects by the Congolese Agency for Public Works (ACGT), as the projects are negotiated in closed sessions with the contractors (CREC and Sinohydro) rather than through open tenders.
• The agreement represents 'continuity' in the DRC's international relations because the final terms aligned with the policy preferences of traditional donors, the IMF, and the World Bank, suggesting that China's emergence as a partner may not fundamentally change the DRC's policy direction.

APA

Jansson, J. (2011). The Sicomines Agreement: Change and Continuity in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s International Relations. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Occasional-Paper-97.pdf

Chicago

Jansson, Johanna. The Sicomines Agreement: Change and Continuity in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s International Relations. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2011. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Occasional-Paper-97.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jansson |first1=Johanna |title=The Sicomines Agreement: Change and Continuity in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s International Relations |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=October 2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Occasional-Paper-97.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jansson2011sicomines, author = {Jansson, Johanna}, title = {{The Sicomines Agreement: Change and Continuity in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s International Relations}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, month = oct, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Occasional-Paper-97.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }