Monrovia, Liberia – Liberia’s massive mineral wealth has long been untapped, and keep increasing attention from around the world as China and the United States fight for influence throughout the continent.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative investments in infrastructure and extractive industries have allowed it to progressively increase its influence in West Africa including Liberia, while the United States, on the other hand has redirected its efforts under Trump’s Trade Over Aid program to forge economic partnerships founded on mutual commercial benefits.
Liberia’s economy increased by 4.8% in 2024, according to the World Bank, with the industrial sector growing by 6%, mostly due to gold and iron ore mining. The nation’s trade and current account deficits were lessened as a result of increased exports of these goods. Accordingly, the rising mining production would be the main driver of GDP growth, which may reach 6.2% by 2025.
World Bank stressed the need for economic diversification and cautions against an excessive dependence on extractives notwithstanding the impressive performance. In order to support equitable, sustainable development, it urges investments in human capital, governance, and infrastructure. However, mining continues to be a key component of Liberia’s economic plan, and the country’s extractive future is essentially controlled by whoever has access to the geological data.
As Liberia opens up mineral prospects to the United States, the question still stands: will China be forgotten? Earlier this year, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai reported that China has finished the most thorough study of its mineral resources in over 50 years, to the Legislature, The Liberian Investigator report.
Questions have been raised concerning the consistency of Liberia’s foreign policy and the government’s role in increasing strategic rivalry between China and the United States in light of Boakai’s supposedly contradictory statements, which first praised Beijing and later asking Washington.
