It is usually said with some exaggeration that China is vacuuming Africa on raw materials. In exchange, the Chinese companies are building modern infrastructure in the form of roads and water supply in Africa. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction is high in Africa with the Chinese companies.
The companies are accused of corruption, illegal mining, child labour, environmental degradation and undeclared working conditions. The German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) has studied more closely the social consequences of Chinese mining in Africa.
Their report, "At Africa's Expense? Disaggregating the Social Impact of Chinese Mining Operations, which analyzes data from 1997 to 2014, found both positive and negative consequences.
As the Chinese companies tend to bring their own staff from China instead of employing local labour to a greater extent than other companies, they contribute less to growth than the African countries would like. The report says decision makers from several African countries that the results are not what they want. In some places, the anti-Chinese moods are strong, according to the report.
Some accuse Chinese environmental crime companies. Chad, for example, withdraws five exploration licenses issued to a Chinese company and demanded $ 1.2 billion in damages in 2014 for environmental crime.
Källa: Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
