In the aftermath of Angola’s devastating civil war, in 2006, one of Africa’s most essential economic lifelines, the Benguela Railway, lay in ruins. For nearly a century, it had transported vast mineral reserves to global markets through the Port of Lobito on Angola’s Atlantic coast. But it was suddenly inoperable. Without it, the country’s resources were effectively stranded inland, unable to move to the port.
Enter China.
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Angola struck a $2 billion deal with a group of Chinese firms to rebuild the 800-mile railway. What followed has become a familiar playbook: rapid financing, imported labor, lightning construction — and Beijing’s effective control over the country’s critical minerals.
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But the cost to local communities was just as familiar: a poorly-built railway plagued by neglect, frequent derailments, and malfunctioning safety systems, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.
Angola’s experience informs the broader global competition for the world’s “new oil” — the critical minerals that power everyday life, from smartphones and laptops to satellites and defense systems.
Today, China accounts for 60% of this global production and processes 90% of rare earths.
That dominance of an industry underpinning $4 trillion of the United States’s annual economic activity reveals not only a supply chain vulnerability but also places a strategic chokehold on our economy.
Fortunately, Washington is no longer asleep at the wheel. In this year alone, the Trump administration, through U.S. international assistance agencies, signed more than 21 bilateral agreements with partners from Australia to Ukraine, launched a $12 billion strategic stockpile, and advanced bipartisan legislation in Congress, such as the DOMINANCE Act, to break dependence on China.
And Angola shows us how this can work in practice.
When the Benguela Railway went up for a new competitive bid in 2022, Angola rejected China and instead awarded a 30-year contract to a U.S.-backed consortium to develop and modernize the entire Lobito Corridor.
The U.S.-backed bid offered something China could not: wrap-around investments beyond the rail that accelerate long-term success through stable communities, healthy workforces, and reliable infrastructure.
Simply put, strategic U.S. international assistance is essential to securing faster access to critical minerals — and to outcompeting China.
Along the Lobito Corridor, the impact is already visible. The State Department has invested in a $1 billion infectious disease initiative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Millennium Challenge Corporation is building roads to connect local markets, and the Development Finance Corporation is supporting small farms along the corridor to strengthen food security, along with de-risking and expanding access to energy, and digital infrastructure — unlocking private investment and making the corridor viable.
This is what a comprehensive U.S. approach looks like: not only securing resources but also investing in local communities while building the systems that make supply chains resilient.
We see it in Sierra Leone, too, where MCC has committed $480 million to help connect the two-thirds of the population lacking access to electricity. Without power, mines cannot operate. But with power, there is more opportunity for both local communities and U.S. partners.
In Southeast Asia, the U.S. is working with Japan and the Philippines on the Luzon Economic Corridor by pairing big infrastructure projects with investments in energy, logistics, and public health.
While the United States is often seen as the partner of choice around the world, private industry and foreign partners have said repeatedly that the U.S. needs to show up with its full economic, commercial, diplomatic, and assistance toolkit.
As every winning business investor has learned, a community that sees no local benefit — or one plagued by conflict, corruption, or disease — is not likely to be a reliable partner, or, in this case, a reliable supply chain partner.
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Today, the Benguela Railway is running again — moving critical minerals from Central Africa’s Copperbelt to global markets along a route no longer dominated by China. Copper that was once stranded inland could soon land in your next car, smartphone, or the satellite connecting it from space.
In a race critical to keeping the U.S. the No. 1 economy in the world and protecting national security, our strategic wrap-around investments are our strategic advantage.
Liz Schrayer is CEO and president of U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
