The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and China have signed a police cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening the operational capabilities of the Congolese National Police (PNC), with a particular focus on fighting mining fraud and cybercrime.

The agreement was signed on May 26 in Beijing by Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani and Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong.

According to a statement from the DRC Embassy in China, the partnership will provide Chinese technical assistance in several strategic areas, including crime prevention, combating mining-related fraud, and tackling cybercrime.

The two countries will establish a joint working group to oversee implementation of the agreement. On the Congolese side, the initiative is being led by Vice Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo Bihango.

The agreement supports the ongoing professionalization of the Congolese National Police, one of the objectives set out in the police reform law promulgated under President Félix Tshisekedi.

Focus on mining fraud

The explicit focus on mining fraud gives the agreement a strong economic dimension. The Congolese mining sector continues to face major governance, oversight, and traceability challenges, particularly in the artisanal mining supply chains for copper, cobalt, gold, and other strategic minerals.

In the artisanal copper and cobalt sector, several reports have highlighted persistent difficulties in tracking production flows, fraudulent declarations, the involvement of unauthorized operators, and weak state control over key supply chains.

These shortcomings contribute to substantial revenue losses for the state, complicate efforts to formalize the sector, and weaken the credibility of Congolese minerals on international markets, where traceability and responsible sourcing standards are becoming increasingly stringent.

Congolese authorities have recently stepped up efforts to curb illegal mining and informal trading networks. In December 2025, Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba suspended all artisanal copper and cobalt processing entities across the country as part of a broader crackdown on fraud and non-compliant practices.

Cybersecurity cooperation

The agreement’s second major pillar focuses on cybercrime. Since 2022, the DRC has operated under a National Cybersecurity Strategy for 2022–2025, which treats cybersecurity as a matter of national sovereignty amid the rapid digitization of public institutions, businesses, and public services.

The strategy highlights the growing pace of cyber threats, the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, and the need to strengthen prevention, detection, and incident response capacities.

Against this backdrop, cooperation with Beijing could provide Kinshasa with technical support in an area where capacity gaps remain significant. However, the specifics of the assistance have not yet been disclosed.

The official communiqué did not specify the resources to be deployed, the implementation timeline, or the safeguards surrounding the potential exchange of sensitive information.

Ultimately, the agreement marks a new phase in DRC-China security cooperation while reflecting Kinshasa’s broader economic priorities: protecting strategic resources, reducing fraud, and strengthening digital security in a country central to global critical mineral supply chains.

Pierre Mukoko