The US and EU countered China’s BRI in Africa’s copper belt. It fell apart in under a year.

by Inside China Business [11-3-2025].

Zambia sits upon some of the world's richest copper ores which are highly prized by China's factory sector and by Western companies.

The race is on to build a railroad to Zambia. The US and EU hoped to lay track through the DRC, which would connect Zambia to Lobito, a port on the Atlantic Ocean.

Chinese companies decided on multibillion-dollar upgrade to an existing railway from Tanzania, called the Tazara Line.

The Lobito Plan was doomed from the start. Financing for the project fell apart as the Trump Administration froze funds, and the war in Ukraine bled dry the EU's budgets.

The Tazara Line, meanwhile, is already laying new track, and Chinese mining companies are signing deals across Zambia to bring new copper and cobalt production online.

Closing scene, Wulingyuan, Hunan

Related

There are many more links to articles in the original post.

Zambia Banks on China-Backed Rail Upgrade to Boost Mining Exports [5-7-2025]