Chinese Steel Investment in Africa

 The Diplomat published on 7 April 2025 a commentary titled "How Chinese Investments Are Reshaping Africa's Steel Industry" by Sena Voncujovi.

For China, investing in Africa's steel industry is a strategic move to relocate surplus production and address slowing domestic demand.  China is acquiring and developing iron ore mines and steel production facilities across Africa.  This may help African nations move from being passive buyers of Chinese steel to active producers. 

Chinese Business Practices in the DRC Cobalt Industry

 The Leiden Asia Centre published in October 2021 a major study titled "Chinese Approaches to Overseas Responsible Business: Insights from the DRC Cobalt Industry" by Stacey Links, Tycho de Feijter, and Jonas Lammertink.

Part I of the report discusses the features of Chinese approaches to responsible business, predominantly defined in China as corporate social responsibility.  Part II investigates how the findings of Part I unfold in practice by analyzing Chinese responsible business approaches in the cobalt mining sector of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  

Chinese Companies Adapt to African Corporate Social Responsibility

 The University of London China Institute posted on 19 January 2021 a blog item titled "China's Adaptive Governance: A Tale of Two BRI Railroad Megaprojects in East Africa" by Maria Adele Carrai, New York University Shanghai. 

Chinese companies involved in construction of major railroad projects in Kenya and Ethiopia faced different civil society and corporate social responsibility expectations in the two countries and adapted to the lowest common denominator in both countries.  

Improving China's Agricultural Assistance in Africa

The ChinAfrica Project posted on 24 April 2020 an article titled "What Does China Need to Do to Improve Its Agriculture Assistance Programs in Africa?" by Cathy Xi Cao, International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The author offers several practical suggestions that would permit China to deliver more effective agriculture assistance programs in Africa.

China's Role in the Extractive Sector of the DRC

International Development Policy published in 2018 a study titled "China and African Governance in the Extractive Industries" by Neil Renwick, Jing Gu, and Song Hong.

The study examines China's controversial role in the extractive industry sector of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a focus on how governance works to maximize gains accruing to the DRC.

Chinese Community in South Africa and Corporate Social Responsibility

The University of Witwatersrand Africa-China Reporting Project posted on 23 January 2018 a story titled "Using CSR to Influence Positive Perceptions of the Chinese by South Africans: Hit or Miss?" by Sharon Tshipa, journalist from Botswana.

The author concluded that the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts by Chinese companies in South Africa are failing to achieve a positive perception of China and the Chinese community by South Africans. On the contrary, CSR by Chinese companies seems to be fueling the disdain and distance between China and South Africa.

Gold Mining in Ghana: Lessons from Chinese and US Companies

The China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies published in October 2017 a brief study titled "Community Engagement in Chinese and American Gold Mining Companies: A Comparative Case Study of Ghana" by Yang Jiao, visiting professor at Miami University in Ohio.

The report presents the results of field research examining local engagement by a Chinese company and American company operating in Ghana.

Chinese ICT Companies in Africa

The China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at Johns Hopkins University published in July 2016 a policy brief titled "Technology Transfer in Telecommunications: Barriers and Opportunities in the Case of Huawei and ZTE in South Africa" by June Sun, a graduate student at the Oxford Department of International Development. The paper discusses the pros and cons of Huawei and ZTE in South Africa and notes they are fiercely competitive in this market.

CARI published a second policy brief in July 2016 titled "Do Huawei's Training Programs and Centers Transfer Skills to Africa?" by Benjamin Tsui, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. While Huawei has training centers in Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the DRC, Angola, and Morocco, the author leaves open the question as to their effectiveness.

China: Reports from Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Cameroon

The University of the Witwatersrand China-Africa Reporting Project has published 4 new reports on Chinese activities in Africa. They are:

--Chinese Mining Company's Recklessness Costs Villagers [in Zimbabwe] by Zimbabwean journalist Sofia Mapuranga published on 23 May 2016 in Newsday.

--Chinese Investment Transforming Rural Fishing Communities in Uganda by Ugandan journalist Francis Mugerwa published on 18 May 2016 in Oil in Uganda.

--China-aided Bamboo Agri-business Paying Off in Uganda by Ugandan journalist Frederick Mugira published on 9 May 2016 in New Vision.

--Chinese Traditional Healing Thriving in Cameroon by Cameroonian journalist Arison Tamfu published on 2 May 2016 in the Cameroon Daily Journal.

Chinese Businesses in Africa: Corporate Social Responsibility

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) published in February 2016 a study titled "Chinese Businesses in Africa: Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Role of Chinese Government Policies" edited by Xiaoxue Weng and Lila Buckley. 

The paper presents the findings of fieldwork in Mozambique, Kenya, and Uganda in 2015, including a survey and interviews with 58 Chinese personnel working for Chinese companies.

The research found that Chinese policies and guidelines generally received a very low level of awareness among the Chinese company representatives.  Privately owned companies had significantly lower awareness of Chinese policies and guidelines than their SOE counterparts.

Host-country laws and regulations stood out as the most important factor guiding company operations in all three countries.

Although local laws received careful attention from the Chinese companies, their operations are also strongly shaped by local institutional practices and social norms beyond the written laws and policies.

Internal corporate policies seem to play an important role in governing a majority of the practices of the Chinese companies.

Conditions set by project proprietors and financiers have critical influence on the operations of Chinese companies undertaking large-scale construction projects.

China's Outward Direct Investment

The Canadian-based International Institute for Sustainable Development published in January 2016 an extensive report titled "Sustainability Impacts of Chinese Outward Direct Investment: A Review of the Literature." 

The project reviewed information from academic databases, think tanks, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and the media.  The goal of the literature review was to develop a comprehensive understanding of the sustainable impact of Chinese outward investments.  It evaluated the literature by considering 12 impacts under 4 broad categories: economic, community, income or price support, and provision of goods or services below market value. 

Chinese Enterprises Overseas and Sustainable Development

The 151-page 2015 Report on the Sustainable Development of Chinese Enterprises Overseas is available online.  While it covers China's outward direct investment globally, it has useful information dealing specifically with Africa.  It was prepared by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in the Ministry of Commerce, Research Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the United Nations Development Programme in China.

As of the end of June 2015, China's cumulative, non-financial, outward direct investment stock (ODI) in Africa totaled $27 billion, according to official Chinese data.  This constituted only 3.7 percent of China's global ODI stock.  ODI in Africa was concentrated in construction (25 percent), mining/oil (25 percent), financial services (16 percent), and manufacturing (14 percent). 

Africa ranked second after Asia in terms of the value of signed and completed contracts won by Chinese companies.  The cumulative value of signed contracts in Africa at the end of 2014 was $472 billion and completed contracts $310 billion. 

The top three major risks confronting Chinese companies operating in Africa were the political and regulatory environment, labor issues, and employee security. 

China-Africa Investment Cooperation

The South African Institute of International Affairs published in August 2015 a study titled "China-Africa Co-operation: Capacity Building and Social Responsibility of Investments" by Wail Benjelloun, Mohammed V University in Rabat. 

The paper reviews Chinese FDI in Africa with the aim of addressing capacity building and social responsibility of investments raised by China's engagement. 

Chinese and Western Multinationals in Kenya

The Erasamus Research Institute of Management recently published a brief comparison of Chinese and Western business practices in Kenya by PhD candidate Ona Akemu.  The author notes that Kenya is courting countries such as China, India, and Malaysia for foreign investment.

Africans' Perception of Chinese Business in Africa

The Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA) published in February 2014 a major study titled "Africans' Perception of Chinese Business in Africa: A Survey."  Pretoria-based EthicsSA is a non-profit, public-benefit organization that opened its doors in 2000.  The survey involved an on-line questionnaire from 1,056 Africans in 15 countries that have a large presence of Chinese companies.

The perceptions were surprisingly negative.  In terms of the reputation of Chinese business in Africa, 43.3% is negative and 35.4% is positive.  In respect to the quality of Chinese products and services, 55.9% is negative and 22.7% positive.  Regarding environmental responsibility of Chinese companies in Africa, 53.9% is negative and only 11.1% is positive.  In terms of economic responsibility of Chinese companies in Africa, 40.1% is negative and 28.3% positive.  Concerning corporate social responsibility, 45.7% is negative and 21% positive.  Perceptions of employment practices of Chinese companies in Africa are 46% negative and 19.1% positive.

The survey concluded that Africans are happy with Chinese investment in the sense that it contributes to the development of their countries.  However, Africans are concerned about the economic, workplace, social and environmental impact of Chinese investment.

China in Africa: Devil or Angel?

Pambazuka News published on 19 February 2014 a commentary titled "China in Africa: Devil or Angel?" by Luo Jianbo, director of the Center for African Studies, Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and  Zhang Xiaomin, associate professor at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.  They conclude that China is an "angel" in Africa. 

China's Environmental Impact in Africa

Environmental Practice published in September 2013 an article titled "China's External Environmental Policy: Understanding China's Environmental Impact in Africa and How It Is Addressed" by Daniel Compagnon and Audrey Alejandro. 

The article concludes that Chinese environmental practices in Africa are improving primarily because Chinese state owned enterprises (SOEs) are now projecting their improved practices overseas.

Chinese Companies in South Sudan

Saferworld, an independent, international organization based in London and aimed at preventing violent conflict, is engaging with China and Chinese companies to promote a conflict sensitive approach to large infrastructure and mineral extraction projects in Africa.  By January 2013, about 100 Chinese companies had registered in South Sudan, mainly working in oil production and infrastructure construction.  Saferworld, in a 30 August 2013 piece titled "Conflict Sensitivity in South Sudan: Ensuring Economic Development Supports Peace," comments on its efforts so far to encourage Chinese companies to interact in a way that supports peace.