‘Going out’: the growth of Chinese foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia and its implications for corporate social responsibility

Abstract

Analysts have finally started to pay increasing attention to the rapidly rising levels of Chinese investment abroad. Deals such as Lenovo's purchase of IBM's PC production arm have sparked interest in a quiet revolution. The story now is not just about the flow of foreign investment in China, but also of the flow of China's investment into other countries. However, most interest so far has concentrated on big ticket investments in the West and the consequences for European and particularly US geopolitical interests. Of less concern thus far have been the implications of Chinese investment on corporate social responsibility. This paper is a preliminary assessment of the potential implications of Chinese investments: in particular, the effect on sanctions designed to improve human rights (with specific reference to Myanmar), and whether pressure can be maintained on foreign investors to comply with international standards and norms in the face of Chinese investment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.