Bad apples in Africa: Chinese traders' and companies' behaviour worries envoy
South China Morning Post - 6 minutes ago
Mimi Lau in Guangzhou
mimi.lau@scmp.com
PUBLISHED: Monday, 14 July, 2014, 4:25am
China's reputation being tarnished across continent by the behaviour
of some Chinese nationals and companies, ambassador to Tanzania says.
China's reputation is being tarnished across continent by the
behaviour of some Chinese nationals and companies, ambassador to
Tanzania Lu Youqing says.
The "bad habits" of Chinese traders and companies were among the main
challenges to the nation's image in Africa, according to ambassador to
Tanzania, Lu Youqing.
In an interview published in yesterday's Southern Metropolis News, Lu
also flagged his concerns about the quality of some infrastructure
projects in nearby African countries that were built by Chinese
contractors at questionably low prices.
"Tanzania hosts ambassadors from about 70 countries, but none of them
needs to constantly worry like us about consular protection issues,"
Lu said in response to a question about alleged police harassment and
robberies targeting Chinese in Africa.
"Our people just cannot shake their bad habits. When they come to
Africa, they are not united and engage in infighting like usual," Lu
said, referring to competition among Chinese companies over contracts
and bribes offered to Tanzanian officials to lobby on their behalf.
He said the embassy became tense every time Tanzania announced another
ivory seizure.
"[Some Chinese here] knowingly engage in illegal activities. Of
course, they're only a minority," Lu added.
Lu said he received complaints from local officials and police about
Chinese nationals who hid ivory inside the bonnets of cars and even
inside the bras of female air passengers.
He was also very concerned about shoddy roadworks carried out by
Chinese contractors in neighbouring African countries.
"When I became ambassador in 2012, each kilometre of road cost about
half a million US dollars. This has increased over the past few years
due to our regulatory efforts," Lu said.
However, some Chinese companies that had been banned by Tanzania were
building roads in neighbouring countries at a cost of US$300,000 to
US$400,000 per kilometre.
"What will happen to these roads in three to five years' time?" he asked.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing could not be reached for
comment yesterday by the South China Morning Post.
Adams Bodomo, a professor of African studies at the University of
Vienna, said he shared Lu's concerns.
"There are widespread business malpractices by some Chinese in Africa,
including illegal mining in Ghana, poaching of endangered species in
South Africa and bribing officials to deliver shoddy construction
throughout the continent," Bodomo said.
But the vast majority of Chinese were "doing a good job and are
building and delivering infrastructure projects faster, cheaper and
far better than some Western companies in Africa".
"Governments of Africa must put in place regulatory systems. No
businessman will always do the right thing if you don't regulate them
effectively," he said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/china/article/1553617/bad-apples-africa-chinese-traders-and-companies-behaviour-worries-envoy
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