The People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have maintained diplomatic relations since 1961 and contacts between the two regions stretch back to 1887 when representatives of the Congo Free State established contacts with the court of the Qing dynasty.

[1] In 1887, King Leopold II of Belgium sent emissaries to the Qing court in China to request the right to recruit labourers for the Congo Free State.

In 1892, the agents of the Congo Free State contracted out their recruiting in China to Macau-based Portuguese firms.

Contemporary newspapers in Hong Kong published information about the bad conditions and mistreatment suffered by the Chinese in the Congo.

[6]: 346  In September 1961, Gizenga joined the Cyrille Adoula government, which recognized the ROC, and the PRC suspended relations in response.

[9] In June 2000, a Sino-Congolese telecommunications company (China-Congo Telecom) was set up between ZTE and the Congolese government in a deal worth RMB80 million in concessional finance from China EXIM Bank.

[7]: 43  As of January 2010, the DRC has not yet been given Approved Destination Status (ADS) by China due to ongoing civil conflict in the country.

[11]: 127 A deal was struck between Sicomines, a consortium of Chinese companies (Sinohydro and China Railway Engineering Corporation), and the Congolese government in April 2008 to grant mineral concessions in Katanga province in exchange for infrastructure investments.

The Congolese and Chinese side have argued that the financing provided to Sicomines by China EXIM Bank is not to be seen as regular government debt since, as stated in article 10.1 of the contract, it is taken on by the joint venture and is backed by the mineral concessions.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised concerns about this deal negatively affecting the DRC's ability to sustain its debt.

In May 2009, the Congolese government agreed to put on hold US$3 billion of the deal while a feasibility study for the mineral concessions is finalized.

[10]: 33–34 As of October 2017, "Sinohydro Corp. and China Railway Construction...own 68 percent of Sicomines," with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo originally telling the Chinese companies to "stop exporting unprocessed copper and cobalt and refine all its metals within the country" and later reversing their decision.

[7]: 44  According to AidData, from 2000 to 2011, there are approximately 21 Chinese official development finance projects identified in DRC through various media reports.

[22] China has also been committed to providing assistance for reforming the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC).

Besides providing military equipment, Chinese firms helped construct the FARDC headquarters and a naval base at the sea port of Banana.