As China emerges as an economic global player, the United States and the West in general have mounted a multi-pronged campaign to discredit its activities on the African continent.

Apart from spreading negative publicity, China has been portrayed as a greedy super power engaged in horrendous exploitation of resources, especially precious minerals to the disadvantage of poor people in Africa.

The battle is now being fought in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where key minerals for laptop and mobile phones such as Coltan are found.

Questions being asked over some of claims raised by western agencies; Is it true that China is now engaged in mineral colonization as opposed to gaining political capital? What threat does China pose to the US and Western interests regarding minerals in Africa? What is Africa achieving in the process?

Several organisations from the US are engaged in negative publicity against China, often for reasons related to geopolitics, human rights concerns, trade disputes, or ideological differences.

Numerous US think tanks, such the Hudson Institute and the Heritage Foundation, frequently release analyses and papers that are critical of China’s actions and policies.
China may be negatively covered by some media outlets, especially those with conservative slants. Newspapers like The Washington Post and internet news sources like Breitbart News and the defence department supported ADF fall under this category.

Other departments like USAID that are supported by US embassies across the continent also play a vital role in trying to retard Chinese influence peddling and their programmes.

Human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch regularly criticize China’s human rights record, citing things like unfair labour practices for Africans working in Chinese companies.

Western media has also capitalised on isolated incidents of misbehavior by Chinese nationals to spread their propaganda campaign.

In 2018 for example, the BBC and VOA continuously ran a story of a Chinese man who was deported from Kenya after a video emerged of him making racist comments.

Authorities in Kenya had revoked Liu Jiaqi’s work permit, after he was captured in a video calling all Kenyans, including then President Uhuru Kenyatta, monkeys.

The BBC said, Liu who is a motorcycle trader, claimed he disliked Kenya because it “smells bad and its people are poor, foolish and black”.
Trade associations may support policies that paint China in an unfavorable light if they represent industries that have faced difficulties or trade restrictions with China. 

Groups that advocate for American manufacturers or technological industries, for example, also draw attention to instances of intellectual property theft or unfair trade practices.

Some lobby groups also try to sway public opinion and government policy against China. 

These groups try to sway the opinion of particular political parties, businesses, or interest groups in various sectors like the youth and women groups among others.

Chinese mining operations in the DRC have come under investigation and criticism for a number of reasons, including governance problems, alleged environmental degradation and abuses of labour rights.

 However, Chinese businesses have played a significant role in the DRC’s mineral extraction, especially in the areas of copper and cobalt in the South East of the vast Central African country. 

The DRC which recently joined the East African Community (EAC) has large quantities of those minerals, which are essential for many sectors, including the production of electronics.

Chinese investment in the DRC are mainly in infrastructure development projects like ports, railroads, and roadways, all of which are necessary for moving minerals from isolated mining regions like Kolwezi to export hubs.

 There have been reports of sub-human working conditions in DRC mines run by Chinese companies. This includes worries about child labor, inadequate safety precautions, lengthy work hours, and low pay.
Western environmental activists claim that mining operations by China have detrimental effects on the environment, particularly where they are carried out without the necessary controls and supervision. 

Issues raised relating to mining operations in the DRC, particularly those involving Chinese corporations, include deforestation, water pollution, and soil contamination.

 Organizations and NGOs in the western the world involved in the so called economic justice, environmental sustainability, and human rights have made damning claims against Chinese mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

A number of advocacy groups have demanded that the mining industry adopt more ethical corporate practices, accountability, and transparency.

Analysts and think tanks in universities in Kenya have argued that although some of the concerns raised by western NGOs and activists may be genuine, most of it is aimed at advancing the US and Western anti-China interests.

 That is because China has emerged as the biggest threats to the US, in military, economic and energy development expertise and they are therefore very worried about the Asian economic giant’s influence in Africa.

Through technology, economic might, Beijing is increasing its influence in African countries that were former allies of the West and that has also send alarm bells to the US, UK, France and other allies.

 The US is concerned that China has conducted orbital technology demonstrations, which prove China’s ability to operate future space-based counter space weapons. 

“Cyber China remains the most active and persistent cyber threat to U.S. Government, private-sector, and critical infrastructure networks,” says the 2024 US Global Threat report released in March.

 The fear is that where the US has managed to convince some of its allies to shun Chinese technology like Huawei, China still has a huge growing market on the African continent and in Latin America which the US can do nothing to either interfere or stop apart from spreading its propaganda.