Chinese mining firms told to stop work and leave Democratic Republic of Congo
- Congolese authorities had suspended six firms’ operations over illegal mining and destruction of the environment
- Beijing demands the companies obey the local government, after protests outside a Chinese mine that had ignored its orders
It came after South Kivu province suspended six Chinese firms’ operations over illegal mining and destruction of the environment. The companies had missed a deadline to register their activities with the Congolese authorities.
Wu Peng, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s African affairs department, on Tuesday said that the authorities in China had investigated and “commanded the companies involved to respect the order of the local government of the DRC, stop their business completely and leave South Kivu province as soon as possible”.
The companies will be punished by the Chinese government, Wu said. It is rare for China to order firms to cease their overseas operations.
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