Chinese investment in Africa has increased greatly in recent years. In Cameroon, the years following the last global financial crisis saw a boom in Chinese investments in the rubber industry, in particular in rubber estates belonging to two companies: Sud-Cameroun Hevea SA and GMG HEVECAM. These investments come from Sinochem, one of the largest Chinese state-owned multinationals, and involve the rehabilitation of existing rubber estates, as well as expansion into new areas. Since the initial investment from China, exports of rubber from Cameroon to China increased from almost none to nearly half of total rubber exports in 2011. We conducted research into the nature and extent of China’s investment in the Cameroonian rubber sector and assessed initial findings through the lens of socially responsible investments (SRI). Overall, the picture shows that the two investments are subject to a number of governance challenges, particularly in relation to land allocations.

This book offers unique case studies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in overseas investments of Chinese Enterprises, covering different industry sectors and regions. The decision making process of key stakeholders in ethical dilemmas, successes, failures and lessons learnt in CSR are analyzed. This book also offers an analysis of the core principles of effective stakeholder engagement, strategic planning and due diligence in the investment process, in topics such as infrastructure, mergers and acquisition, integration of local employees, trade unions and responsible advertising. It reiterates the importance of responsible business for the success of effective Outbound Direct Investment (ODI) strategies.

This book offers unique case studies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in overseas investments of Chinese Enterprises, covering different industry sectors and regions. The decision making process of key stakeholders in ethical dilemmas, successes, failures and lessons learnt in CSR are analyzed. This book also offers an analysis of the core principles of effective stakeholder engagement, strategic planning and due diligence in the investment process, in topics such as infrastructure, mergers and acquisition, integration of local employees, trade unions and responsible advertising. It reiterates the importance of responsible business for the success of effective Outbound Direct Investment (ODI) strategies.

The authors give an in-depth analysis of the trends and challenges of social responsibility of Chinese investors in Africa, and provide some thought-provoking suggestions for possible triangular cooperation among China, Europe and Africa in promoting more responsible investment in Africa.

“The authors make some very critical interventions in this debate and scholars engaged in the environmental ‘pollution haven’ and ‘race to the bottom’ debates will need to take the arguments made here seriously, re-evaluating their own preferred theories to respond to the insightful theorizing and empirically rigorous testing that Zeng and Eastin present in the book.” —Ronald Mitchell, University of Oregon China has earned a reputation for lax environmental standards that allegedly attract corporations more interested in profit than in moral responsibility and, consequently, further negate incentives to raise environmental standards. Surprisingly, Ka Zeng and Joshua Eastin find that international economic integration with nation-states that have stringent environmental regulations facilitates the diffusion of corporate environmental norms and standards to Chinese provinces. At the same time, concerns about “green” tariffs imposed by importing countries encourage Chinese export-oriented firms to ratchet up their own environmental standards. The authors present systematic quantitative and qualitative analyses and data that not only demonstrate the ways in which external market pressure influences domestic environmental policy but also lend credence to arguments for the ameliorative effect of trade and foreign direct investment on the global environment.

Based on a comprehensive treaty survey, the article presents the general approaches to sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Chinese International Investment Agreements (IIAs). With the global trend towards investor responsibilisation, a new generation of investment policies places inclusive growth and sustainable development at the heart of efforts to attract and benefit from the investment. While there is still an overall lack of sustainable development provisions in existing Chinese IIAs, an increasing number of China's recent treatises move towards sustainability. Most sustainable development provisions in Chinese IIAs are carve-out provisions to preserve the States' regulatory space in public health, environment, and other SDGs. In recent IIAs, provisions include social and environmental obligations on investors, ranging from a mere signal of the Contracting Parties' commitment to sustainable development in the preamble, to corporate social responsibility (CSR) type provision in the form of no lowering of standards clauses or best endeavours provisions. Finally, procedural provisions on sustainable development safeguard substantive protections.

We proudly present the proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Law, Economic and Governance 2021 (ICOLEG 2021). It focuses on how the wave of digitalization influences the ethics and law, especially in Law and Democracy, Law and Indigenous People, Law in Contemporary Issues, Law and Economics, Digital Economics, Good Governance etc. As we know, the world today is changing and the world we are facing now is the one where everything is connected. The contemporary social issues based on complex problems, complex interest, beyond borders and powers. More than 125 manuscripts from various countries were presented at this conference with around 66 of them selected to be published in proceedings. We hope by this conference, discussions on how research on Law, Economic and Government is possible in a disruptive era will give a perspective for the social and humanities studies development.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become an important concept in the last few decades. Although it originated in the developed countries of the West, the concept has been embraced and adapted by corporations and policy-making agencies in many developing countries. Not surprisingly, given the importance of growth and development as policy objectives in these countries, CSR has had a significant impact on sustainable development. Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility explores the evolution of CSR across the developed and developing world, with a particular focus on China and sustainable development. Through an extensive review of the literature and relevant case studies, the book examines whether CSR can make a contribution to sustainable development, how the patterns of CSR in developed Western economies compare to that in the rapidly growing economy of China, what trade-offs take place between CSR and economic growth as well as the future of CSR and its possible impact on the global sustainable development agenda. This book is a valuable resource for academics and upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students in the fields of human/social geography, economics, business studies, sustainable development, development studies and environmental studies.