"CHINESE FOSSIL FUEL INVESTMENTS IN AFRICA", 8 November 2021

China has invested in a number of high-profile infrastructure projects throughout the continent, including a $7 billion oil pipeline in Niger, a $1.3 billion port project in Cameroon, and a $3.6 billion investment into the aluminium sector in Guinea. [...]

Environmental Impact

The environmental impact of Chinese investments depends on the nature of project, the behavior of Chinese firms, and the laws and enforcement of the host country. [...]

Labour Impact

The infrastructure projects and mining concessions are supposed to generate not only revenue for African governments but also jobs for local workers. African countries like South Africa, Nigeria, and Namibia have the highest rates of unemployment in the world at 33-34 percent.

In many cases, Chinese firms have resisted hiring locally and has instead brought in their own workers from China. By the end of 2019, 182,000 Chinese were working Africa, many of them on construction projects. According to McKinsey, however, Chinese firms rely on Africans for nearly 90 percent of the jobs.

Conditions at those jobs vary. At one factory in Zimbabwe, Farai Maguwu reports, “workers allege that they are locked up during lunch hour. The Chinese say, ‘if we leave you free, you will steal.’ They are only released after lunch hour. We have also seen Chinese discharge firearms where workers are demanding a minimum wage.” [...]

Lack of Accountability

One of the challenges of dealing with Chinese companies is the lack of transparency and clear lines of accountability. Some of that has to do with linguistic and cultural gaps. But it also reflects a certain pattern of corporate behavior.

Even when communities and civil groups raise concerns with Chinese companies in Guinea—for instance about the violation of laws or rights—“the companies continue to move ahead with impunity,” observes Aboubacar Diallo. “When a community contacts the World Bank, they are able to have recourse. That’s not the case with any Chinese company.” [...]