NGOs play vital role in shaping China's corporate image in Africa

China's engagement with Africa has mostly been a story of government-to-government relations. Although there are many Chinese businesses operating in Africa, the economic numbers linking the continent and China are often dominated by African governments providing market access to Chinese state-owned enterprises.

However, this relationship is now broadening, with non-governmental organizations from both sides becoming an increasingly important pillar of the ties. NGOs in Africa have often highlighted concerns over Chinese investment, especially in areas like workers' health and safety, remuneration, environmental and product quality issues.

Chinese businesses, with limited domestic experience of engaging with NGOs, have often ignored and rejected these concerns in Africa, or have simply not managed their engagements effectively. Such shortfalls are often seen in Africa as proof of high-handedness, or worse still as a lack of commitment to responsible behavior, on the part of Chinese businesses.

Biased reporting in the international media has made matters worse, and led to several positive impacts made by Chinese companies in the continent being given short shrift. Several of these aspects are discussed in detail in the report on Chinese outward investment prepared by the China Council for International Cooperation in Environment and Development.

The report, based on detailed research and study tours in southern Africa and Indonesia, called for improved communication of good practices by Chinese companies, as well as improvements in practices where they fell short of acceptable standards.

China is, however, aware of the need to address poor business practices in Africa, as well as wanting to highlight and get credit for good practices. Most of the government policies and guidelines have been established with this in mind, such as the Green Credit Guidelines of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, and the Guidance on Environmental Protection in Foreign Investment and Cooperation recently released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Ministry of Commerce.

Policy measures can help, especially if they are implemented with effective oversight mechanisms. But they alone are not enough to ensure that things go well on the ground in Africa, considering that the thousands of Chinese businesses operate across dozens of African countries, doing everything from renewables to finance, telecommunications and minerals extraction.

Policies and government-to-government actions in Africa often need to be complemented with the active engagement and support of NGOs, for creating long-term, productive relationships.

Alliances between Chinese and African NGOs can help African communities communicate their concerns and needs more effectively to China's corporate and policy leaders, both on the ground in Africa and in China. They can also offer practical help to Chinese businesses, from training of managers to building community partnerships. Ultimately, however, for such alliances to be effective requires them to ensure that Chinese businesses, just like their international peers, are held to account for their social and environmental performance.

African NGOs have learnt over decades how to do this by holding local businesses and multinationals to account. Poor performing companies from Europe and North America to Australia and Japan have had to respond to African NGOs as they campaigned against corruption, and for improved environmental stewardship and community engagement. Likewise, African NGOs will be active in ensuring that Chinese enterprises bring real benefits to African people.

Chinese NGOs, working with African NGOs, can make a major difference in helping to avoid the sort of conflict that has taken place in the Zambian copper belt. Conflict over several years at Chinese mines has resulted in both Chinese and African deaths, and to the recent cancellation of one Chinese mining concession by the Zambian authorities. Such personal tragedies, and their associated commercial failures, do not need to happen, and can be avoided if governments, businesses and NGOs can work together to improve common understanding and jointly implement programs to improve the situation on the ground.

Chinese NGOs can also help African communities hosting Chinese enterprises to talk effectively with both local managers and other China-based senior executives. Furthermore, Chinese NGOs can help their African partners understand China's policies guiding Chinese enterprises operating internationally, and so improve the effectiveness of such policies on the ground.

Professional Chinese NGOs can play an important role in strengthening the China-Africa relationship. Capabilities remain limited, however, in this early stage of development. This is all the more so for Chinese NGOs working internationally, where much needs to be done to increase their capacities to make a positive difference.

In fact, as China's role in Africa has matured, its businesses have increasingly engaged in international environmental and social initiatives active across Africa.

Increasing the engagement of Chinese NGOs in such initiatives in the future will help make them more effective by bringing the experience, perspective and resources of China to Africa, as well as its growing economic footprint.

China's long-term success in Africa will depend on it becoming more than a visitor offering economic opportunities. Chinese enterprises will need to localize and become a more permanent part of the African economic and social landscape.

Mutually beneficial development ultimately has as much to do with how people deal with people at the individual, workplace and community levels, as it has to do with governments.

China, like other guests in Africa, cannot do this alone. NGOs, although not always easy partners, are, however, the key to the localization process in Africa.

The author is a visiting scholar at Tsinghua School of Economics and Management. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily 04/26/2013 page7)