On 3 November 2025, Chinese construction workers employed on the China State Construction Fifth Engineering Division’s “520-Bed Military Hospital” project in Algeria launched a strike to protest against unpaid wages, gathering at the project office to demand that the Division’s Third Company settle alleged arrears, according to a report. Workers described severe non-payment issues, including one who said he was still owed five months of wages totalling about 80,000 yuan after returning to China, and another who reported receiving no pay for two months of work and incurring a loss of roughly 24,000 yuan.

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre reached out to China State Construction Engineering (parent company of China State Construction Fifth Engineering Division) for response. The company did not respond.