China Asks Companies to Mind Environment When Investing Overseas

China Asks Companies to Mind Environment When Investing Overseas
By Bloomberg News - Feb 28, 2013 7:25 AM ET
bloom.bg/13qjRfs

China issued environmental protection guidelines for the country's
companies to follow when investing overseas, calling on them to pay more
attention to pollution and its impact on local communities.

The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Environmental Protection
issued the guidelines so that Chinese companies can reduce disputes
arising from the neglect of environmental issues, Yao Jian, a commerce
ministry spokesman, said at a briefing in Beijing today. The guidelines
call on companies to follow local environmental laws, assess the
environmental risks of their projects, minimize the impact on local
heritage and draft plans for handling emergencies.

"We want our companies to realize that they must look after
environmental issues in domestic and overseas investments," Bie Tao, a
policy department official from the Chinese environment ministry, said
at the briefing. "No side will win if the environment is neglected, and
we have many lessons in this regard."

Zambia last week revoked the license of a Chinese-owned coal mine in the
south of the country after violations of safety and environmental laws.
In Myanmar, construction of a $3.6 billion hydropower plant by a venture
between China Power Investment Corp., Myanmar's Ministry of Electric
Power-1 and a local private company was halted after the project drew
the criticism of environmentalists and local residents protested.

China's outbound investment in the non-financial sector jumped 28.6
percent to $77.2 billion in 2012, according to the commerce ministry.
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