Ketimpangan Relasi Kongo-Tiongkok Dalam Investasi Infrastruktur Melalui Hak Kelola Mineral Kobalt

Through the Sicomines agreement, China obtained the rights to cobalt exploration, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) received infrastructure funding. From the beginning, the distribution within the agreement tended to be unequal, and over 15 years of implementation, most of the benefits have been gained by China. Efforts to renegotiate the agreement have remained limited due to China’s dominance. This study aims to explain why inequality occurs in the Congo-China relationship in infrastructure investment through cobalt resource management. It uses a qualitative explanatory research method and applies Dependency Theory proposed by Theotonio Dos Santos.The findings show that the inequality is the result of several structural factors, including the legacy of colonialism and corruption that weaken the capacity of the DRC, the design of the Sicomines agreement which favors China, and China’s investment strategy that reinforces dependency rather than promoting economic independence. As long as the DRC continues to depend on China for investment, technology, and market access, its bargaining position will remain limited despite renegotiation efforts.