Ambassador says Chinese businesses should be asses...

Ambassador says Chinese businesses should be assessed on individual merit

Ambassador of China to Zimbabwe Mr Guo Shaochun has pointed out that many Chinese businesses have operated in the country for many years, establishing household brand names and have been good corporate citizens and should not be lumped with the few bad ones.

Zim Now Writer

Zimbabweans should assess the Chinese businesses in Zimbabwe fairly rather than wantonly feed into smear campaigns.

This was said by the ambassador of China to Zimbabwe Mr Guo Shaochun in his speech at the launch of a report on Chinese investment in Zimbabwe prepared by a local media company.

“China request Zimbabwean authorities and public to observe the advantages and weakness of Chinese companies from an objective perspective,” said Ambassador Guo.

This comes against media reports of unfair labour practices against a number of Chinese companies.

There are over a 1000 Chinese companies operating in Zimbabwe with hundreds of thousands of employees.

Allegations of worker abuse have been levelled against a few with many other long running establishments having had no allegations raised against them in over 20 years of operations.

Ambassador Guo said that each organisation should be treated on its own merit as an independent unit.

“Disputes related to the Chinese companies should be addressed through legal approach, rather than exaggerating the difference and stigmatizing the entire Chinese community,” he said.

Ambassador Guo said the Chinese companies are adapting to the environments in which they operate as there are cultural differences in ways of doing business.

“They prioritize efficiency and usually prefer to working hard rather than leaving the investment idle,” he said.

Working hours and job description issues have been high on the list of labour disputes between Chinese employers and local workers.

Ambassador Guo acknowledged that there Chinese companies with problems.

“We also face up to the shortcomings of Chinese companies. China is still a developing country, and Chinese companies are also in the process of growth and maturity. They still need to further draw lessons from advanced experience and focus on self-improvement.”

He said the Chinese government has always required the overseas Chinese enterprises to strictly comply with the laws and regulations of host countries, and fully respect local customs, traditions and cultures, but there are bad apples.

“Indeed, a few Chinese enterprises have some problems in their operation, but this does not represent the whole picture of Chinese investment, nor does it mean that the cooperation between China and African countries is being rejected,” he said.

He also said in cases where laws need to be reconsidered, China was willing to work with host nations to ensure that the business environment is conducive to foreign investors from all over the world.

“Some of these problems are caused by cultural differences, some are common issues in the relevant industry, some are resulted by the lack of management experiences, and some may indicate the laws and policies of the host country need further improvement.

“We sincerely hope Zimbabwe to continuously improve its laws and regulations to ensure better compliance, and strengthen law-enforcing supervision to urge foreign companies to make improvement and positively respond to reasonable social concerns,” he said.

The ambassador said hatred and discrimination against Chinese companies will be rejected by the Embassy which will not protect companies guilty of breaking the law, but will defend the rights of businesses in the country.

Foreign minister Ambassador Fredrick Shava and Industry minister Dr Sekai Nzenza were also present along with deputy Information minister Kindness Paradza.