The Liberian government is reportedly disenchanted with a recently signed infrastructure deal that US state department officials allegedly endorsed.
As reported by The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres, certain US government officials lobbied for Liberia to sign a commercial agreement with US-based Ivanhoe Atlantic, formerly known as High Power Exploration (HPX).
U.S. Ambassador to Liberia Mark Toner, appointed by former President Joe Biden, reportedly pressured Liberia to sign a nearly $2 billion railway infrastructure and minerals deal with Ivanhoe Atlantic.
The US’s encouragement of the deal raised controversy given Ivanhoe Atlantic’s links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Liberia President Joseph Nyuma Boakai ultimately signed a $1.8 billion deal with Ivanhoe Atlantic on July 4, 2025.
Local media reports, however, state that President Boakai and the Liberian government have since become frustrated and skeptical with the deal.
Liberian government officials claim Boakai signed the deal partly as compensation for Ivanhoe’s alleged help in securing Liberia’s entry to the recent US-Africa summit in Washington, DC.
According to Liberian government officials, however, internal intelligence revealed after the deal’s signing suggests that Liberia’s summit participation was secured through its diplomatic agents’ efforts.
Local media report that anonymous government sources argue “(Boakai) was made to believe he owed (Ivanhoe) a political favor, but the premise turned out to be completely false.”
Besides the controversy surrounding how the Liberian government was manipulated into signing the deal, Ivanhoe’s connections to the CCP undermine President Donald Trump and his administration’s efforts to counteract China's growing influence in Africa.
President Trump has sought to counteract China’s global and African dominance through economic, diplomatic, and military agreements between US entities and other countries.
The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed China’s international operations threaten America’s interests and national security.
State Secretary Marco Rubio stated, for example, that China, led by the CCP, “is the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.”
