Commentary: China must tighten its regulations to achieve responsible mining of transition minerals abroad
"Can China fix the problems with transition mineral mining abroad?", Global Witness, 1 July 2025
[...] do China’s regulations sufficiently address the environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts of its overseas mining operations?
[...] China often mines in regions where weak governance amplifies risks of environmental degradation and human rights violations.
At home, [...] Requirements for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), consideration of the "three simultaneities" [...], ecological restoration [...] and mining safety have been actively updated and implemented [...].
However, the same requirements do not necessarily apply to its mining overseas. [...].
Major Chinese CSoE mining companies – including China Nonferrous Metals Mining Group (CNMC), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China Minmetals, China National Gold Group (CNGG) and Aluminium Corporation of China – faced ESG and human rights controversies abroad. Yet supervisory actions from Beijing were rarely seen.
[...] seven ministries released a Due Diligence Guideline requiring companies [...] to identify, assess and monitor compliance risks [...].
But the Ministry of Ecology and Environment [...] was absent from the Due Diligence Guideline’s issuers, and the Due Diligence Guideline lacked a systematic framework for risk control and traceability [...].
In summary, Chinese mining companies still have a long way to go in implementing Xi’s speech and turning their vision into reality.
In March 2025, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) [...] requiring listed companies to publish sustainability reports in line with stock exchanges rules.
But disclosing pollutant discharge [...] is only obligatory for companies [...] appearing on government-designated lists for mandatory environmental disclosure.
Communities abroad where mining operations take place frequently report inadequate consultation in project construction and resettlement, leading to a lack of free, prior and informed consent, involuntary displacement, insufficient compensation and the loss of traditional livelihoods.