DRC President Engages with Congolese Diaspora in China, Emphasizing the Potential Benefits of China’s Experience

The day after his arrival in Beijing, China for a four-day state visit, the Congolese Head of State, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, met on Thursday, May 25, 2023, with members of the Congolese community. in China.

In front of his compatriots gathered at the headquarters of the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Beijing, President Félix Tshisekedi gave an overview of the situation prevailing in the country on the security, economic and political levels. and social.

With regard to bilateral relations with the People’s Republic of China, the Congolese Head of State, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, maintained that he expected good results from the new partnership of cooperation and friendship.

“The will is expressed on both sides to strengthen this cooperation. China has needs that the partnership with the DRC will meet and vice versa…We hope that this partnership with our Chinese friends will also help us meet our needs, which are all the challenges we face. said President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi.

The Congolese Head of State has made local transformation one of his priority battles.

For Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, it is unacceptable that the country’s minerals are only extracted to be processed abroad.

“We want to develop our country: it goes through industrialization. There are minerals that we no longer want to be just mined and go to bring happiness to the economies of other countries and then send us back finished products that are more expensive than the value of those products when they were mined here. 

One of my battles is local processing. Transform our products in the DRC, create a value chain that will allow our economy to derive maximum benefit from them. “, he said.

To this end, the Congolese President, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, indicated that the discussions are much more advanced with the Chinese State on the project of local manufacture of electric batteries. 

This is indeed a promising market for the Democratic Republic of Congo, counted among the countries with a good quantity of rare minerals.

In addition, the Congolese President, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi stressed that China is a good example of development and the fight against corruption.

“When you come to China, you see that China is doing great things…I am China’s best ally because I want to help China change its image in the DRC. “, did he declare.

And to hammer: “Here we condemn people who are corrupt to death and we execute them. They have chosen the radical method and it works. Thanks to this, they curbed the corruption of their administration. And today, China is described as the most powerful country in the world or to become in the immediate future. And thank God, we are lucky to be one of the privileged friends of this power. 

While calling on his compatriots living in China for unity and solidarity, President Félix Tshisekedi says he hopes that Sino-Congolese friendship can help develop partnerships to raise the standard of living in the Democratic Republic of Congo and why not allow the country to achieve the Chinese miracle one day.

For their part, Congolese nationals established in China, students and economic operators, seized the opportunity to express their various concerns.

Among their grievances are prominently three financial difficulties concerning in particular the opening of bank accounts in China; sending and receiving money through money transfer agencies; and the question of the granting of visas by the Chinese authorities.

In response to requests from the Congolese community in China, the President of the Republic, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, indicated that “all these issues will eventually be included on the agenda of the next meeting of the China-DRC Joint Commission planned by November 2023 with a view to seeking possible solutions”.