MONROVIA -- An influential U.S. lawmaker is warning that Liberia may be walking into a geopolitical trap. A multibillion-dollar rail project promoted as a pathway to economic revival, he says, could instead tighten China's grip on Africa's minerals and pull Liberia into the center of a global power struggle.
Rep. John Moolenaar, who chairs the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), issued the warning in a sharply worded letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on December 9. He urged the State Department to reconsider its support for the Liberty Corridor--Liberia's ambitious plan to rebuild and expand the rail line linking mining hubs in Liberia and Guinea to a deepwater port on the Atlantic.
In the letter, Moolenaar argued that Ivanhoe Atlantic, the company pursuing the rail concession, is "deeply entangled" with Chinese state-owned enterprises and political influence networks. Those links, he said, pose risks not only to U.S. strategic interests but also to Liberia's long-term sovereignty over its mineral wealth.
The congressman pointed to major Ivanhoe shareholders, CITIC Metal and Zijin Mining Group, whose ownership ties, he said, place the rail project squarely within Beijing's global minerals strategy. Both companies, he noted, operate under the influence of China's Ministry of Finance and have been cited in U.S. national-security assessments, including by the Federal Communications Commission, for presenting unacceptable risks to U.S. interests.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
Moolenaar also raised alarms about individuals inside Ivanhoe's leadership. One board director, Patrick Tsang, is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and sits on Hong Kong's Chief Executive Election Committee--positions the U.S. views as part of the CCP's United Front apparatus, which is designed to cultivate influence abroad. He said the United Front's involvement in companies active in Africa should not be taken lightly, describing it as a "sophisticated blend" of engagement and intelligence work aimed at shaping political environments beyond China's borders.
The Boakai administration has championed the Liberty Corridor as a cornerstone of its economic agenda, promising thousands of jobs, new mining revenue and expanded regional trade. But Moolenaar's letter hints at a deeper tension: the possibility that a transformative infrastructure project could double as a strategic entry point for Chinese influence in West Africa.
The congressman also questioned the State Department's earlier endorsement of the project, suggesting U.S. diplomats may have "moved too quickly" to embrace a deal without fully accounting for the implications of Chinese-linked ownership. He referenced a 2024 dispute in which the Senate Foreign Relations Committee halted funding for a proposed Liberian National Railway Authority after concerns that U.S. Embassy staff in Monrovia had "fabricated a counter-PRC nexus" around the project. Liberian officials later acknowledged the railway authority was unnecessary.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
