Chinese Demand for Timber and Wildlife in West Africa

 The Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame published in October 2025 a paper titled "Chinese Demand for Timber and Wildlife in West Africa: Responding to the Environmental and Social Impacts" by various authors.

China's demand for timber and illegal wildlife products contributes significantly to deforestation and biodiversity loss in West Africa.  This paper recommends ways to strengthen enforcement and promote accountability to address environmental and social impacts of Chinese demand for timber and wildlife.

Illegal Logging, China, Africa, and the US

 Foreign Affairs published on 2 June 2025 an article titled "The War on Trees: How Illegal Logging Funds Cartels, Terrorists, and Rogue Regimes" by Justyna Gudzowska and Laura Ferris. 

China is a major player in the global illegal logging industry.  Much of the timber comes from Africa.  Without a concerted effort by China to stop the trade, demand will ensure that it continues. The United States is complicit in that American consumers purchase many of the Chinese products manufactured with illegal timber.  

Chinese Companies Engage in Forest Crimes in DRC

 The Environmental Investigation Agency published in October 2024 a report titled "Until the Last Log."

The report indicates that the largest industrial logging companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chinese firms Wan Peng and Booming Green, are engaged in apparent forest crimes and corruption to meet their clients' demand for unprocessed logs. The DRC is at risk of becoming the last safe haven for forest looters in the Congo Basin region. 

Illegal Logs from Mozambique to China Help Finance Insurgency

 The Environmental Investigation Agency published on 14 May 2024 an announcement titled "Millions of Tons in Illegal Logs Shipped from Mozambique to China."

The Environmental Investigation Agency found that since 2017 an average of over 500,000 tons per year of timber has been exported from Mozambique to China in violation of the country's log export ban, and a portion of this trade also finances violent insurgents.  Chinese traders purchase "conflict timber" from Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaah insurgents in Cabo Delgado province and export it alongside other logs.  

China and US Complicit in Equatorial Guinea's Illegal Logging

 The Environmental Investigation Agency published in November 2023 a report titled "The Dictator's Door: From Crimes in Equatorial Guinea's Forests to Home Depot's Customers."

This report presents investigative findings that connect illegal logging of okoume logs in Equatorial Guinea and opaque processing of the logs in China with millions of doors sold to US customers via more than 750 Home Depot stores.  Once in China, the logs enter processing and veneer manufacturing supply chains so opaque that companies are often unable to trace the origin of the timber.  

Chinese Company Responsible for Illegal Logging in DRC

 Global Witness published in October 2023 a report titled "Puncturing the Second Lung of the World."

An international non-governmental organization with offices in London and Washington, Global Witness has uncovered evidence that shows China-linked timber company Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development is responsible for illegal logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, exporting more than $5 million worth of illicit timber to China between June and December 2022.