Chinese Mining Companies Research Articles

Changing Triangular Relationships: A Historical Analysis of Labour Relations at a Chinese Mine in Papua New Guinea

This paper contributes to the literature on the expansion of Chinese multinational corporations (CMCs) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) by comparing the operation of a Chinese mine to that of the German New Guinea Company. I start by looking at the two economic positions (helper and merchant) performed by early Chinese immigrants to New Guinea during the colonial era and the host hostility they encountered. 1 Then, a case study of a Chinese mining company in postcolonial PNG illustrates how local employees learned to negotiate with Chinese management through unionization instead of striking. In the meantime, Chinese personnel became subject to PNG industrial regulations based on Australian standards rather than operating as a modernizing agent to educate local workers. 2 These findings suggest that, despite specific new Chinese communities becoming investors, they must dedicate resources towards comprehending local customs and legislation, given the enhanced agency of local actors.

Emerging market multinationals’ embeddedness in Global South countries: an empirical study of Chinese MNEs in Peru

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) are integrating and expanding into other emerging market host countries, focusing on Chinese mining companies in Peru.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a qualitative approach, an in-depth analysis of two Chinese state-owned enterprises’ strategies was conducted, building on stakeholder theory and the business ecosystem perspective.FindingsThis study reveals a reliance on high-level political lobbying rather than localized engagement strategies. However, findings point to increasing grassroots resistance among local stakeholders, undermining EMNEs’ bargaining power.Originality/valueThis paper argues for a paradigm shift toward inclusive, cooperative “translocal governance” approaches as empowered communities gain voice. Key contributions include advancing theoretical understanding of changing stakeholder relationships and power configurations in emerging countries, underscoring the rising significance of microlevel sociocultural embeddedness for MNE success and highlighting practical imperatives for EMNEs to embark on rapid localization strategies in Latin America. By elucidating multilayered integration realities in Peru, this interdisciplinary study yields contextualized insights and enriches perspective on the conditions and pathways for EMNEs to build sustainability in Global South emerging market environments.

Manufacturers’ Acquiescence to Buyers’ Sourcing Requests in Industrial Markets

ABSTRACT Purpose This study examines a three-level interdependent hierarchical supply chain and explores the antecedents and consequences of a manufacturer’s acquiescence to a buyer’s request to source a component from a designated component supplier. Methodology This research collected survey data from 212 Chinese mining companies and analyzed the data using structural equation models. Findings First, a manufacturer’s acquiescence is negatively associated with its industrial knowledge and technological capability as perceived by the buyer, but positively correlated with the relational ties between the buyer and the designated component supplier. Second, the detailing efforts strengthen the impact of perceived industrial knowledge but weaken that of relational ties on acquiescence. Third, the manufacturer’s acquiescence ensures the buyer’s power maintenance and procurement outcome certainty, and improves the manufacturer’s customer loyalty and control of sourcing information. Research implications The research highlights the significance of understanding acquiescence within an interdependent supply chain network and indicates that acquiescence will not necessarily lead to the acquiescing firm’s dependence disadvantage. Practical implications The research suggests that firms can use acquiescence to preserve interdependent supply chain relationships. When deciding whether to acquiesce or not, firms should consider not only the market perceptions of their resources and capabilities but also the supply chain networks. Detailing can be an effective method to reduce the pressure for acquiescence. Originality In the context of a manufacturer’s sourcing decisions, the research provides fresh insights into acquiescence in a three-level hierarchical supply chain relationship.

A critical review on tackling complex rare earth supply security problem

A sustained and guaranteed supply of rare earth (RE) minerals is imperative to a country's national security to sustain its manufacturing, defence, and high-tech industry sectors. Although the term is referring to “rare”, it does not mean that they are not abundant, but rather the difficulties to extract these minerals and the highly mixed nature of the deposits make them rare. RE minerals' production has been closely monopolised by Chinese mining companies which have create concerns on their supply risk and resilience in the future. This study critically reviewed 1) the existing approaches and theories used to evaluate the RE supply security and 2) the pathways to achieve RE supply security and their existing drivers and barriers to implementation. Literature and reports were collected from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google search which resulted in 323 articles included in the final database and 67 articles for the critical analysis. Our findings indicate the need to integrate existing approaches and theories such as resilience, material criticality, and risk theory to overcome their individual limitations. This study also suggested four pathway categories that can improve RE supply security including 1) circular economy strategies, 2) supply chain agility, 3) building domestic supplies, and 4) exploring beyond terrestrial mining. A preliminary causal loop diagram (CLD) was developed based on the factors identified during the review to depict the complexity and dynamics of the different system elements affecting the RE supply security.

Chinese Mining Companies in Peru: Is There a Single Cause of Problems?

China’s dependence on the supply of mineral resources is becoming stronger than ever. The activity of Chinese investors in the mining industry on a global scale has increased significantly during the last years. Moreover, the activity of Chinese mining investors in the developing countries has some special characteristics such as large-scale projects and protests of local communities during their implementation. This article discusses the activities of Chinese mining companies in Peru, in which both of these conditions were present. The author analyzes the activities of “Shougang”, “Chinalco” and “MMG Ltd” in Peru. The hypothesis is as follows. If there is a special Chinese way of investing, the problems of listed investors (which lead to conflict with local communities) should have a single reason that is unique for all Chinese enterprises. In these conditions, investors should keep the distance between themselves and Peruvian authorities and the local citizens. As a result of the study, the conclusion is made that such reason cannot be identified at this stage. The causes of problems for each of the considered enterprises are unique, but not common for all of them. The origins of these problems are the economic situation, the bureaucratic problems of the Peruvian authorities, as well as the general trends in the relations between transnational mining companies and the Peruvians. At the same time, Chinese companies try to take into account the experience of their predecessors. Most likely, in the future that could possibly lead to greater openness and expansion of dialogue between investors, government and the public worldwide.

Can green industrial policy improve total factor productivity? Firm-level evidence from China

Based on unique micro-level data on 18,885 Chinese mining companies, this study explores the effect of tax incentives for green development on mining company total factor productivity (TFP) and its mechanism of influence. The results are as follows. (1) Tax incentives for green development can improve mining companies’ TFP. A 1% increase in tax incentives for mining companies increases TFP by 0.060%. After considering endogeneity and selection bias, our conclusion is still valid. (2) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effect of tax incentives on TFP is more significant for private companies, companies in central and western China and companies in areas with weak environmental controls. (3) There is a two-way causal relationship between tax incentives and TFP, mining companies with higher TFP receive more tax incentives. Further analysis shows that tax incentives improve TFP through technological progress. This study provides Chinese firm-level evidence for the Porter hypothesis.

The role of Chinese mining corporates in adhering to corporate social responsibility in Zambia's mining industry, 2010–2018

Within the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), this secondary data‐based research paper examined the role of China's mining companies' adherence to CSR within the context of its engagement with Zambia. The central question grappled within this paper is whether there is a practise of CSR as a corporate ethic strategy to further social good which must be interpreted even beyond the firm or companies' interests, all required by the internal laws of Zambia. The central objective is to analyse CSR which ought to be applied to enhance high ethical standards, reduction of legal risks, and positive public relations. As such, this paper argues that there is a deficit literature and/knowledge existing which outlines the role of Chinese mining corporates' CSR in the Zambian mining industry. Implying that there are limited policy blueprints or scholarly documents, outlining how Chinese mining companies are expected to conduct themselves. The only scholarly relevant available knowledge at our disposal in respect to the subject under scrutiny exists in Euro‐American Multimedia video‐sharing engines such asYoutube and Twitter. These knowledge systems are North [ern] angled, contributing to an imbalanced body of knowledge, that triggered the adoption of Afrocentricity as the alternative theoretical telescope.

Chinese Mining Kongsi in Eastern Oregon: A Case Study of Cultural Amnesia

This research article draws on transnational histories of Chinese mining companies to argue that biases of the dominant Euro-American population diminished the contribution of Chinese immigrants to the formation of modern Oregon. Chinese immigrants who were highly skilled at the art and science of gold mining dominated placer gold mining in eastern Oregon during the nineteenth century. For over a century, however, historical narratives have generally portrayed them as unskilled laborers subsisting on scraps of gold recovered by rewashing the waste rocks abandoned by white miners. Chinese miners from Guangdong Province had worked in southeast Asia for a century before the discovery of gold in Oregon. By the time Chinese miners reached eastern Oregon in the 1860s, they were experienced at moving people, supplies, and gold over great distances in foreign lands. Following the established practice, most Chinese miners in eastern Oregon worked in partnerships wherein they earned a share of the profits, instead of wages. Several nineteenth-century documents accurately describe these Chinese mining partnerships in eastern Oregon, and as author Don Hann argues, the disconnect between those earlier depictions of Chinese mining companies and the later portrayal of the Chinese as unskilled laborers is a form of cultural amnesia.

China's multinational corporations in the Democratic Republic of Congo's mining industry: An Afrocentric critique

China's entrance in Africa in the early 2000s through the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation has apparently signalled several mutual beneficial agreements. However, there is a view that the Asian tiger's (China) arrival on the African soil was driven by its national interests. Such interests were particularly in the continent's rich mineral resources complex, which are deemed significant for its own economic boom. This observation reflects that scholars and practitioners alike have not uniformly understood China's engagement with Africa. Therefore, this paper problematizes what is often cited as the second “scramble for Africa” within the context of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It argues that Chinese mining companies' operations in DRC are no different to the early colonial masters who only came to Africa for nothing else but mineral resources in order to develop their own nations at the peril of Africa's own development. Based on Afrocentricity as the alternative theoretical lens, this paper seeks to critique the involvement of Chinese Multinational Corporations in the mineral resources complex of DRC. Methodically, this paper relies on document review and analysis in its broadest sense.

Mismatching Structures: A New Explanation for the “Unsatisfactory” Labor Conditions in Chinese Mining Companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Ever since the Minerals-for-Infrastructure Deal valued at $6 billion was signed between Chinese companies and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Government in 2008, there have been criticisms on both the agreement itself and the working conditions for Congolese and Chinese workers in Chinese mineral enterprises in the DRC. Based on our fieldwork in Katanga Province of the DRC and interviews with dozens of local Chinese workers and managers in Chinese-run mining companies as well as staff working at the civil society organizations and governmental departments there, this research tries to investigate the real working conditions in Chinese mining companies. This paper concludes with three points. First, the so-called “wage gap” always asserted by the local workers is rather a phenomenon of employment structure than discrimination. In non-English-speaking African countries, a gap has actually emerged between the insufficiency of local human resources and the lack in localization capabilities of the Chinese multinational enterprises. Second, the compliance dynamics and mechanism of Chinese-run mining companies in the field of labor conditions were driven by local pressure groups including legislation, governments and NGOs, rather than by Chinese government or legislative system. What is interesting is that the rigid discipline of local laws and the abuse of discretion in the process of implementing laws have created a special pressuring structure and resulted in some complex consequences. Third, many Chinese-run mining companies in the DRC have quite different business structures from their branches in China. This is because of their financial investment aims and for the ease of enterprises’ transition. Therefore, it has led to their different perspectives of labor conditions and human resources strategy from mature MNCs. In summary, the research cannot draw a conclusion that the labor conditions are really terrible in Chinese-run mining companies in Katanga Province. However, it reveals that the Chinese government and Chinese enterprises are still not fully prepared for direct investment abroad, although “Going-out” strategy was raised 13 years ago.

At Africa's Expense? Disaggregating the Social Impact of Chinese Mining Operations

Qualitative studies and media reports suggest that the presence of Chinese oil or mining companies generates resentments among local extractive communities due to low wages, poor working conditions, environmental degradation, the employment of foreign labour, and perceived racial discrimination. At the same time, Chinese investment in the extractive sector appears to enhance local infrastructure. So far, these claims have not been empirically tested in a systematic way. Relying on novel data on the control-rights regimes of diamond, gold, and copper mines and geo-referenced information from Afrobarometer surveys, this paper examines whether Chinese-controlled mining promotes anti-Chinese sentiments among the local populations of sub-Saharan African countries. In addition, we test the effect of mining contractors’ nationality on socio-economic indicators such as local employment rates and infrastructure levels. Our logistic regression analysis for the period 1997–2014 reveals that the effect of Chinese mining companies on African local development is ambiguous: while proximity to Chinese-operated mines is associated with anti-Chinese sentiments and unemployment, populations living close to Chinese mining areas enjoy better infrastructure, such as paved roads or piped water. Multilevel mixed-effects estimations using district-level data from the Demographic Health Survey for 20 sub-Saharan countries corroborate these findings.

Effect of Forced Relocation on Household Income and Consumption Patterns: Evidence from the Aynak Copper Mine Project in Afghanistan

In 2011, the government of Afghanistan and a Chinese mining company relocated an entire village near the Aynak copper mine, where they developed a mining site. This paper investigates the impact of this displacement on affected households’ income and consumption patterns using a difference-in-differences approach and primary household-level data from the villages around the mine in two periods: one just before relocation in 2011 and another in 2015. In 2011, all households of the Wali Kali village, one of the seven project-affected villages, were involuntarily relocated. Project-affected families (PAFs) claim that their traditional earning sources have been inadequately replaced by mine-related earnings and that, being separated geographically, they now face difficulty maintaining social networks that are necessary for their survival. Once lost, rebuilding social networks is not easy in war-trampled Afghanistan. This paper clarifies these shadowy effects of forced relocation and demonstrates that traditional daily labour income was reduced significantly and only partially replaced by income from mine-related activities among those who were relocated and that relocation significantly discouraged the participation in community life, reflecting the losses of social capital among the PAFs due to separation.

Chinese investment in Greenland’s mining industry: Toward a new framework for foreign direct investment

This paper examines the dynamics of Chinese investment in Greenland’s mining industry, drawing on findings from interviews with representatives from selected companies, organizations, and financial institutions. Support from the central government, along with political stability and an abundance of high-quality mineral resources, has facilitated Chinese investment in Greenland’s mining sector in recent years. Chinese mining companies now operating in Greenland have, however, faced a number of problems along the way. A dearth of international management skills and stringent social and environmental legislation in particular have proved to be major challenges for Chinese mining companies investing in Greenland.

Rural place-making, globalization and the extractive sector: Insights from gold mining areas in Kratie and Ratanakiri, Cambodia

There has recently been much debate about the ways in which place-based research should contextualize rural land use disputes in relation to economic globalization. This article analyzes how changing hybrid configurations of global and regional influences in Cambodia's extractive sector have transformed the dilemmas of rural place-making, focussing on two cases – a Chinese mining company's concession in Kratie and an Australian mining company's concession in Ratanakiri. Addressing contexts where resource access has been contested by local Khmer small-scale gold mining communities, migrant miners and foreign-owned companies, the case studies illustrate how globalization pressures have been experienced differently. The cases also highlight analytic weaknesses of dominant development narratives that focus narrowly on local illegal land use and the need for resettlement of communities living and working in large companies' concessions. The article introduces a framework of three inter-related themes that encourage a more sensitive interpretation of extractive sector contestations under globalization, calling for critically engaging divergent interpretations of “illegality” in resource use, exploring the dynamic interactions between global and regional actors, and carefully considering small-scale miners' socioeconomic and historical connections to rural places. As this is the first study in almost a decade to focus on social dimensions of Cambodia's mining industry, the article concludes by suggesting how place-based research attuned to ever-changing faces of globalization can deepen understandings of socioeconomic marginalization and transformation in Cambodia's mineral-rich areas and beyond.

As Wind, Thunder and Lightning: Local Resistance to China's Resource-Led Diplomacy in the Christian Philippines

In recent years, transnational Chinese investors from the Greater China region have been seeking natural and mineral resources in foreign countries. This paper focuses on a mineral-rich region in the Philippines where China's resource-led diplomacy was first launched in 2007. Although foreign Chinese mining companies have made inroads into mineral-rich local communities, they have also encountered resistance from non-state actors, causing their operations to be disrupted and suspended. The authors argue that the local reception of China's resource-led diplomacy can be attributed to two factors. First, in light of the debate on ‘China's globalization versus South East Asian state sovereignty’, the growing strength of the Philippine state in resisting transnational mining endeavours hinges on the democratic space constituted by both state and non-state actors, resulting from political decentralization and active social activism. Second, it shows that the transnational Chinese actors have an insufficient knowledge base, in which they privilege a top-down state-centric approach that reinforces the patrimonial rule of the Philippine politicians. The authors conclude, first, that such patrimonial rule is largely made possible through the provincial governor as the key agent connecting the national state authority, local government units, mining operators/investors and the affected villagers. Second, local resistance to resource-led patrimonial rule hinges on the formation of Philippine democratic space. This space remains transient and unpredictable in nature, and so cannot be assimilated into the patrimonial character of the Philippine state. Such democratic struggle is like wind, thunder and lightning – hard to chase, hard to catch.

Chinese Mining in Latin America

Observers have expressed concern that Chinese mining companies operating in Latin America are more egregious violators of labor and environmental standards than other mining companies. Critics point to the case of one operation in particular—Shougang Hierro Peru—as evidence of China’s threat to Latin American labor and environment. We combine archival research in Peru, personal interviews, and data analysis to examine the extent to which Shougang Peru is an outlier in labor and environmental performance relative to other foreign and Peruvian mining firms. We find that Shougang Hierro Peru has indeed established a poor labor and environmental record in Peru. However, a counterpart firm from the United States performed worse on many levels, and some Peruvian firms are not far behind. Such findings show that Chinese firm behavior should not be analyzed in isolation, especially in sectors such as mining where labor and environmental problems are endemic to the sector.

El caso de Shougang: comparando la minería china y occidental en el Perú

Observers have expressed concern that Chinese mining companies operating in Latin America are violating labor and environmental standards to a greater extent than other foreign mining companies. Critics point to one operation in particular –Shougang Hierro Peru– as evidence of China’s threat to Latin America’s workers and environment. Indeed, Shougang has experienced a far higher rate of strikes than other foreign firms. Many observers have assumed that Shougang’s strike problem stems from an inevitable culture clash between Peruvian unions and Chinese management. In fact, union relations remained positive for years, until Shougang lost funding when its parent company suffered a crisis back in China in 1995. I argue that the strike problem stems largely from Shougang’s response to its 1995 funding crisis: it burnt its bridges with the unions to save money. Some have suggested instead that Shougang has suffered more strikes because it has a far worse record on labor safety and environmental protection. In fact, new Peruvian government data show that Shougang’s labor and environmental record is not significantly worse than that of other foreign firms. The most similar American firm, Doe Run Peru, has fewer union problems despite worse labor and environmental standards. I argue that Doe Run Peru has maintained better labor relations by careful communication with its unions. This study refutes the idea that Shougang suffered from an inevitable China-Peru culture clash and highlights the importance of open dialogue with organized labor.

China's Rising Demand for Minerals and Emerging Global Norms and Practices in the Mining Industry

This paper examines the disjunction between the current mining practices of Chinese state companies and emerging international norms and host community expectations in the global minerals market. The paper argues that if China does not move toward the observance of new international norms for responsible mining, especially those dealing with interests and concerns of local communities, the result may be increased tensions and conflict in those parts of the world where Chinese mining companies are operating, with potentially negative consequences for China's own interests and economic development.