"Chinese mining companies need deeper dialogue with overseas communities", Dialogue Earth, 11 November 2025

Respect for the principle of free, prior and informed consent remains one of the biggest ongoing challenges in overseas operations, particularly in project approval, environmental impact assessments, and resettlement processes. [...].

Communities near Chengxin Lithium’s Sabi Star project told [...] that the local government had pressured them into consenting to relocation and taken a percentage of their compensation. After the company transferred responsibility for the resettlement process to the local government, [...] many of those concerns remain unresolved.

Similar stories have been reported around the Zijin Mining’s COMMUS copper and cobalt project in the DRC. [...].

[...] we did observe that trust gaps often arise from various factors. These include companies’ limited familiarity with international norms, entrenched practices, hesitation to engage directly with communities for fear of unmanageable demands or criticism, and over-reliance on local authorities and staff to overcome language and cultural barriers.

[...] these challenges reflect a deeper structural weakness: the absence of clear, enforceable standards or guidance on how companies should effectively engage with affected communities. [...].

[...] transparency and community engagement in Chinese overseas mining projects reveal structural weaknesses.

[...] They need to establish direct, continuous and inclusive dialogue with affected community, which in turn serves company interests by fostering trust and preventing the escalation of local tensions.