China is reportedly on track to control the ailing African Tazara railway connecting Tanzania and Zambia, originally funded by Mao Zedong’s government in the 1970s, despite geopolitical needling over control of mineral trade routes. Amid growing geopolitical tensions over the control of trading routes for critical minerals in Africa, China has chosen the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) to negotiate a concession to operate the Tanzania-Zambia Railway line. Once upgraded, it will provide a key transport route for critical minerals used in the production of batteries for electric vehicles. They will also develop the Lobito transport corridor, which will connect inland southern DRC and northwest Zambia to regional and global trade markets via the Angolan port city. Washington is studying a US$250 million financing package to build a key transport corridor in southern Africa aimed at securing access to critical minerals like copper and cobalt used in electronics and batteries for electric vehicles.
