"New Guide to Researching and Holding Chinese Corporations Accountable" 20 September 2022

Inclusive Development International today published our newest resource for corporate accountability advocates, How to Hold Chinese Corporations Accountable. Part of our larger Following the Money to Justice toolkit, the new resource provides in-depth guidance for researching and holding Chinese corporations accountable for the impacts of their overseas investment projects. 

The guide is tailored for advocates working to support communities to defend their rights in the face of harmful and high-risk projects involving Chinese actors. It aims to help them understand how Chinese investors, developers and financiers operate, the standards that apply to their overseas operations and how to use these standards in advocacy to ensure that the rights of affected communities are respected and protected. The new resource builds on Inclusive Development International’s previously-published guides to engaging Chinese stakeholders, adding critical information and detail about relevant policies that have been issued in recent years, and examining overall trends in how Chinese government agencies and industry groups are approaching regulation of overseas projects. [...]

The new resource includes:

• A background on Chinese overseas investment and finance over the past two decades, from the “Going Out” strategy to the Belt and Road Initiative and China’s aid program.  
• An overview of the key actors involved in Chinese overseas projects, including state-owned and private enterprises, financiers and investors, as well as regulators and industry associations.
• An overview of Chinese policies and guidelines that apply to overseas projects, with a focus on provisions concerning social and environmental risk, and an analysis of current trends in China’s governance of overseas projects. 
• A deeper examination of particular sectors of Chinese investment and the standards that apply specifically to mining, agriculture and forestry, energy, finance and contracting. 
• A set of practical resources and quick reference guides, including tips for finding information on Chinese projects and stakeholders, tips for effectively engaging Chinese stakeholders, and a compilation of standards, policies and guidelines that apply to Chinese overseas investment. 

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