Chinese Investments in Brazil: Economic Diplomacy in Bilateral Relations

The People’s Republic of China has consolidated its status as a great power and strengthened its presence in different regions of the planet. In accordance with its economic development strategy, Beijing’s growing bond with Latin America is part of China’s need to guarantee access to raw materials and energy resources. In this framework and through economic diplomacy, China has strengthened its trade relations, as well as loans and investments in most of the region’s countries.Brazil is an example of this relationship pattern, as one of China’s most important partners and top investment destination in Latin America. It became Beijing’s top commercial partner in 2012. This paper will analyse the composition and evolution of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Brazil between the years of 2004 and 2020. In order to do so, we will study the main projects carried out by the country, as well as the characteristics of the Chinese companies (state or non-state) that participated in the process, in order to understand their most important features. Likewise, we will analyse the articulation of the Chinese FDI with its trade flows. We will start from the premise that Chinese investments in Brazil are directly linked to Beijing’s strategic interests, while at the same time guided by market logics that try to maximise profits. In this vein, within the framework of the ‘going out strategy’,state companies play a fundamental role.

Mitigating social-ecological risks from the surge in China’s overseas investment: an Indonesian profile

Rapid development has become a global priority as countries strive to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Sustainable development is crucial for increasing human well-being in emerging economies while avoiding perverse outcomes on livelihoods, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to help countries reach their national goals for economic growth, trade, and development, but there remain widespread concerns over how this boom in Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) will impact social-ecological systems. Here, we discuss the risks implicit in BRI-related FDI projects to ecosystems and local communities, and how these risks can be mitigated or exacerbated by national governance of BRI projects and national development policies. We frame our discussion around Indonesia, where convoluted governance of some of the largest Chinese FDI projects may reduce accountability, and a recent job creation law brings risks of rapid unsustainable development practices across this biodiversity hotspot.

Shareholder use of CSR reports: an accountability perspective

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the extent of shareholder engagement and satisfaction with corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of a Chinese-owned company compared to an Australian-owned company in the Australian mining industry. The study is motivated by the speed, extent and nature of Chinese foreign direct investment in Australia, the resulting negative social attitudes and the impact on the perceptions of a report’s credibility. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a survey of 202 minority shareholders of two Australian mining companies, one has a Chinese majority shareholder and the other an Australian majority shareholder. The responses highlight users’ comparative perceptions of corporate motivations for reporting, the level of perceived shareholder power over reporting decisions and the resulting propensity to read CSR reports. Findings The authors found that, contrary to decision-usefulness theory, which posits that users will read CSR reports only if they are deemed to be reliable, that perceptions of poor credibility and poor CSR performance actually result in a higher propensity to read the reports. This suggests that the minority shareholders of the Chinese acquired firm are using reports to monitor the level of corporate accountability. Originality/value The findings have implications for firms operating in politically or socially sensitive industries that are likely to use CSR reporting as a legitimising strategy. The paper also provides guidance to regulators in the provision of information, which is meaningful to minority shareholders.

Determinants and effects of Chinese foreign direct investment in the economy of Ukraine

The article analyzes Chinese foreign direct investment in the economy of Ukraine at the present stage. China is as an important partner for Ukraine, not only in the field of foreign trade and investment but also for the implementation of the strategic vector of Ukraine’s economic development and its integration into the modern world economy. The empirical study shows that Chinese investors receive additional incentives to invest in Ukraine if there is a prior positive investment experience, increasing market potential and openness, and economic freedom. As Ukraine is generally perceived as a path to European markets, the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU is a positive factor. However, Chinese investors’ readiness to support corruption schemes in the Ukrainian economy arouses concern. Therefore, in order to enhance and improve the structure of investment flows from China, it is necessary to take a number of measures to overcome corruption.

Media coverage of Chinese investment in the United States: Politics and missed opportunities

This article explores how five leading U.S. publications covered Chinese direct investment in the United States from 2000 through 2019. The authors find a lack of in-depth coverage of Chinese companies that were significant investors in the United States even though the news organizations offered fairly comprehensive coverage of the broad strokes of U.S.–China relations. The coverage shortfall comes despite Chinese foreign direct investment rising from US$385 million to more than US$40 billion a year during the study period. An analysis of leading news narratives and sentiment finds a dramatic rise in negative news sentiment during the Trump administration’s trade war with China from 2017 to 2019.