African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1429: Chapter 12: Intercity Cooperation_2

However, this is obviously not easy to achieve, after all, the interests of Lubumbashi and Kitwe are not entirely aligned, and there has even been a long-standing competitive relationship between the two in the past.

Although Kitwe is much smaller than Lubumbashi, it also has an overwhelming advantage over other cities in the copper belt besides Lubumbashi.

Therefore, the two cities have been vying for economic dominance of the copper belt since the last century, and the most direct manifestation is the similarity in their industrial structures.

With overlapping industries, competition is inevitable, which leads to price fluctuations, and the end result is a fight between the sandpiper and the clam, benefiting the fisherman.

Two hours later...

Deberne and his party finally arrived at the Lubumbashi city government; the distance from Kitwe to Lubumbashi is just over a hundred kilometers, showcasing the complex relationship between the two cities—after all, as the saying goes, two tigers cannot live on the same mountain.

”Mayor Deberne, you are indeed an esteemed guest.” Mayor Boke of Lubumbashi came forward to greet.

Deberne: ”Long time no see, Mayor Boke, recently your Lubumbashi city has been remarkable, entering the seventh place nationally in the economy, further solidifying its reputation as the largest city in the copper belt.”

Hearing Deberne’s compliment, Boke was quite pleased, but he humbly said: ”It’s just a matter of the predecessors planting trees and the later generations enjoying the shade. I have merely made small achievements standing on the foundations laid by our forebears. These years, your Kitwe has also developed well, ranking among the top in the central economic zone.”

Their conversation clearly reflects the developmental gap between Kitwe and Lubumbashi. Lubumbashi is considered a big city nationally, while Kitwe’s influence is mainly significant in the central region.

In fact, when comparing Kitwe’s economy with the entire East African nation, it ranks in the upper-middle tier, but the gap with genuinely large cities like Lubumbashi is still too evident.

Deberne said: ”Alas, our Kitwe cannot compare to Lubumbashi. In the last century, we might have been able to compare economically, but now, we must admit that Lubumbashi has widened the gap with Kitwe, and we cannot catch up.”

Boke did not respond to this, instead, he asked: ”Mayor Deberne, what brings you to Lubumbashi this time?”

Deberne was straightforward, saying: ”The purpose of our visit is simple. We want to explore a cooperative agreement with your Lubumbashi and see if other cities in the copper belt can join in economic cooperation.”

”Hmm! How do you propose we cooperate?” Mayor Boke asked curiously.

Deberne explained: ”Mayor Boke, I trust you are well aware that the copper belt holds a significant position in the national economy, relying on copper resources. One could say copper mining and non-ferrous metal processing are the core industries of our region.”

Boke nodded and said: ”Of course, considering the name itself highlights the importance of copper to our cities.”

Deberne: ”That’s right, but I think you also know the crisis facing the copper industry in recent years. Although not yet apparent, the signs have emerged: the development of non-copper belt copper resources and the impact of imported copper on us.”

”Especially external copper imports pose the greatest threat to the copper belt. They have disrupted the domestic copper market, leading to a decline in copper prices over the years.”

”While the central government considers factors such as diplomacy, environment, and colonial development, it does not reject the entry of imported copper, creating an economic bottleneck for us. If we cannot break through this, not to mention advancing, the entire copper belt is at risk of decline in the future.”

A typical diplomatic manifestation is East Africa importing substantial copper resources from South American countries. The effort to ally with South American nations by East Africa is evident to all.

To foster relations with these nations, interest alignment is necessary, and purchasing their agricultural and mineral resources is among the most common methods.

Objectively speaking, East Africa has never been a nation short of copper, and it could achieve self-sufficiency.

However, the East African Government sees no issue in purchasing copper from countries like Chile and Peru to strengthen ties, especially given that the sheer volume and quality of their copper do not significantly outprice domestic copper.

Clearly, national interests may not always align with local interests. While the East African Government does not mind the influx of foreign or colonial copper, the copper belt regions certainly do, but they cannot prevent it since the copper belt is not unique in East Africa; there are many other copper-producing regions within the nation.

Deberne’s remarks also got Boke thinking. As Deberne mentioned, cities in the copper belt are overly reliant on copper resource development, and now with external competition, it has indeed affected Lubumbashi.

The reason Boke does not share the same urgency as Deberne is that Lubumbashi’s conditions are far superior to Kitwe’s, whether in transportation, education, or even resources.

Nonetheless, since Deberne has raised the issue, Boke is willing to go with the flow but first wants to see what kind of cooperation plan Deberne has.

So, Mayor Boke asked: ”How do you intend to solve this issue? And how should we cooperate?”