US President Joe Biden met with African leaders at the Angolan port of Lobito on Wednesday to advance a plan to expand a railway that could transport essential minerals from Congo and Zambia to the West via Lobito, and counter Chinese influence in the region.

As things stand, China is the main foreign player in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining sector, which exports minerals considered critical for batteries and other industrial components critical to the transition away from it. fossil fuels.

The United States has provided a $550 million loan to support the Lobito project, which will refurbish an existing railway through Angola and extend it to Congo’s mining heartland as part of of the first phase.

No date has yet been given for its completion, while a second phase which would connect Lobito to Zambia via a new railway line is still in preparation, with the aim of starting in 2026 according to Washington.

The presidents of Angola, Congo and Zambia and the vice president of Tanzania joined Biden for a summit in Lobito on the last day of his first and only trip to Africa as president.

Biden and Congolese Félix Tshisekedi affirmed their commitment to promoting investment and peace to allow this Central African country to make the most of its vast mineral wealth, according to a White House memo released after their meeting.

Biden and his Zambian counterpart Hakainde Hichilema also met to discuss the Zambian component of the Lobito project and other issues.

“This corridor is of vital importance for the opening of our countries, for the opening of our regions, the continent and truly the global economy,” Hichilema said. “This project is a huge investment and trade opportunity.”

“The presidents emphasized their belief,” the White House said, “that countries should not be prevented from investing in their development by the need to repay unsustainable debt, and they pledged together to continue to advocate in favor of reforms.

In June, Zambia’s international bondholders voted in favor of their share of a $13.4 billion debt restructuring deal, making Zambia the first to complete a comprehensive overhaul under the of the architecture of the “Common Framework” led by the G20.

The China factor

The Lobito Atlantic Railway concession, awarded in 2022 to a consortium of Western companies, has been presented as a victory against China, as Washington grows increasingly concerned about Chinese control over critical minerals, including Congo’s vast copper and cobalt reserves.

The second phase of the project envisages extending the Lobito rail corridor across Zambia and connecting it to the Tanzanian Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam.

The United States has funded feasibility studies for the second phase, but critics say it could offer China a rival route east, undermining the entire project from Washington’s point of view.

After Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president in January, Washington is expected to take a tougher line on China and some officials question whether U.S. support for the Eastern Route will continue.

Trump will likely support at least part of the Lobito project and remain a close partner of Angola upon his return to the White House, according to two officials who served under the previous Trump administration from 2017 to 2021.

Details regarding financing and construction of the second phase of the project are still in question.

The Lobito project is backed by global commodities trader Trafigura, Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil and rail operator Vecturis. There is no date yet for its completion.

A senior U.S. official said Tuesday that the Lobito project could be completed by the end of the decade, without providing further details.

The U.S. Development Finance Corporation provided a $550 million loan to refurbish the 800-mile (1,300 km) rail network linking Lobito to Congo.

U.S. officials this week announced new funding for the first phase of the project, through the Development Finance Corporation, worth $600 million for projects including solar, minerals and telecommunications.

Biden pledged enduring US engagement with Africa on the continent’s own terms when he met with his Angolan counterpart João Lourenço in Luanda on Tuesday. Biden’s trip fulfilled his promise to visit Africa, but came just weeks before the end of his presidency.

Despite his repeated promises to be “all in on Africa,” American influence in Africa declined during his tenure. Washington has lost a military base in the Sahel region and made little progress in breaking China’s commercial dominance in minerals considered critical to national security.

Angola has long had close ties with China and Russia, but has recently moved closer to the West. It aims to expand its collaboration with the United States on security and military initiatives, Lourenço said during Biden’s visit on Tuesday.