Planet China : Seventh in a series about how Beijing’s trillion-dollar development plan is reshaping the globe—and the natural world.

Chinese miners are illegally extracting Congolese gold on a vast scale, according to a new report from the nonprofit PAX, which also accuses the Democratic Republic of the Congo of weak and ineffective governance.

The report, published Wednesday by the Netherlands-based peace advocacy group, said that semi-industrial gold mining operations have devastated at least 155 miles of rivers and streams in Haut-Uélé, a province where poverty is widespread and where armed conflict and violence have roiled the population for decades.

“Chinese nationals and their Congolese partners have led this gold rush, with the protection of Congolese army and police officers,”

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