At a time the Congolese military feels vulnerable and at the mercy of smaller neigbhors like Rwanda, the Chinese government has come dangling a carrot to help the country re-develop and equip its military.
A team of Chinese officials visited Deputy Prime minister responsible for defence Jean Pierre Bemba and made the bargain to help Congo’s military with $23,251,015.
The Congolese army is ill-equipped and poorly remunerated to an extent that small nations like Rwanda bully it.
China’s move could also be another way of trying to re-negotiate its mineral interest in the Congo after the current regime demanded that previous contracts with it be re-looked.
President Felix Tshisekedi is also planning to undertake his first trip to China where he will discuss military and economic cooperation.