On November 6, 2019, local time, the representative of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) Mr. Ma Yong, the Deputy Secretary-General of CBCGDF attended the first day meeting of the 6th General Assembly (GA) of African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA) in Abidjan, C?te d’Ivoire.

This three-day meeting consists of around 130 attendees including representatives of ACCA members from Africa, international and Chinese related institutions. They will deliver keynote speeches and engage in interactive discussions around this year’s GA’s theme “Impacts, opportunities and accountability in the context of Chinese investments in Africa”. Mr. Ma Yong is invited to participate in the meeting. He will join in case discussions and will deliver a keynote speech titled “Environmental movement in China and approach to greening its international trade and investment” on November 7th.

The objectives of the 6th GA of ACCA include: Adoption of policies and ACCA coalition governance; Understanding China’s domestic governance and its investments in Africa; Sharing tools and advocacy approaches for accountability of Chinese investments in Africa; Strengthen relationships between ACCA’s member organizations and partner organizations; Offering a space for ACCA members to interact and display materials through the NGO fair.

In the meeting of the 6th, Elemchi Nwosu, a Researcher of Sino-African relations from the University of Oxford delivered a keynote titled “China in Africa: A multifaceted perspective of Chinese investment in African” followed with a Q & A session. It provided a systematic analysis of the role of China's investment in Africa and the problems it faces. After that, two speakers gave a talk jointly titled “Establish up front mutual expectations for both Africa and Chinese participants”, their names are Delphine Djirabe and Paul Migoti.

After a coffee break, the audience listened a panel themed “Understanding China’s domestic governance and its investments in Africa”. Three keynote speeches were delivered by experts from China, and interactive questions were asked. The titles are “Belt and Road Initiative in Africa, China’s labor movement and how Chinese companies approach labor in African investments”, “Media advocacy strategies: Comparing portrayal of Chinese investments in Africa in Chinese vs Western media” and “Understanding Chinese companies: differential Strategies for State-owned, Private Enterprises and public listed companies”.

After lunch, there was four Parallel sessions focused on “Chinese investments in Natural Resource, Infrastructure and Energy projects”. This is a parallel discussion on China's investment in different areas of Africa. Representatives from Ghana, Guinea, Congo, Kenya and other countries introduced and interacted on China's current status and problems in mining, oil, forest development and hydropower thermal power projects.

With the increase and deepening of China's investment in Africa, issues involving the environment and culture have become increasingly unavoidable. CBCGDF is willing to actively understand and master relevant situations and participate in communication and coordination to promote friendly cooperation and exchanges between China and Africa in the attitude of builders.

Stay tuned for more upcoming information on this event.

(Photo credit: accahumanrights.org)

(Photo credit: CBCGDF)

By / Maggie