The U.S. authorities on Tuesday rebuked two Chinese nationals arraigned for alleged smuggling and exploitation of Nigeria’s solid minerals at the Ikoyi Division of the Federal High Court, warning that such illegal activities could disrupt the global supply chain and reverberate across the U.S. 

The public rebuke, dished out by the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, can worsen the already frosty relations between Washington and Beijing.

The U.S. embassy in Nigeria did not hold back in criticising the Chinese nationals in a brief statement on Tuesday, days after Nigeria’s anti-graft commission, EFCC, posted mugshots of Zhang Hong Lin and Zhao Pei Hai, latest suspects of illegal mining operations which include smuggling “mica products, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing mineral resources.”

The American government said that illicit mining and smuggling of Nigeria’s natural resources posed a serious threat to the West African nation’s sovereignty and could hamper  exports to other countries including the U.S.

“Illicit mining threatens Nigeria’s economic future and fuels transnational corruption,” the U.S. embassy in Nigeria stated. “Accountability in the extractives sector is essential to protecting Nigeria’s sovereignty and ensuring a secure and transparent global supply chain, which is core to U.S. strategic interests.”

The statement referenced a link to the EFCC report on the arraignment of the Chinese nationals.

For years, citizens of China —one of Nigeria’s biggest lenders— have been at the centre of illegal mining allegations where the nation’s solid minerals are pilfered by foreign entities who sought to bypass payment of royalties to the federal government.

Peoples Gazette reported EFCC’s arrest of 13 Chinese nationals in July 2023 in Kwara State.

A similar yet separate report in February 2024 detailed how two Chinese suspects were detained by the agents over alleged links to illegal mining.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump still has an axe to grind with his Chinese counterpart on tariffs, slapping a visa ban on Chinese students even as he revoked those who had been granted.

The criticism of Chinese activities in Nigeria might further dent the fractured relationship between Washington and Beijing.