Congo’s cobalt curbs expose China’s critical metals weak spotBy Andy Home / Reuters, LONDONChina’s dominance of critical mineral supply chains is not as absolute as it might appear. The DR Congo suspended cobalt exports in February last year and introduced a quota system in October. The US has helped mediate a peace deal between Kinshasa and Rwanda to stop the fighting that has engulfed the DR Congo’s eastern regions. Chinese cobalt buyers are facing not just lower imports from the Congo but increased competition for what is being mined. That dependence is going to be increasingly problematic as, China’s cobalt buyers are finding out.

Source: Taipei Times February 28, 2026 16:12 UTC