Chinese Investment and Labor Practices in Ethiopia

Ethiopia stands out from other African countries for its ability to attract Chinese companies to open factories there. Through a combination of tax incentives, industrial parks, and its strategic location, Ethiopia is outpacing pretty much every other African country in luring light manufacturing companies to set up shop. But in a country that still lacks a government-set minimum wage, there are widespread complaints that Chinese companies there pay too little and don't employ enough local workers. While those perceptions may be widely-held, they're not supported by the data, according to Weiwei Chen, a PhD candidate at the University of London and a PhD Fellow at UNU-Wider, a think tank at United Nations University in Helsinki, Finland. Weiwei is an expert in Chinese investment in Ethiopia and worked with her University of London colleague, Professor Carlos Oya on a 2019 research report that explored Chinese hiring practices in both Ethiopia and Angola . Their findings echoed earlier research that refuted the stereotype that Chinese companies prefer to bring in their own workers rather than to hire locally. Weiwei joins Eric & Cobus to discuss her latest research on Chinese corporate engagement in Ethiopia and why she thinks there are still so many misperceptions about Chinese hiring practices. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Facebook: Twitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @WeiweiChen16 SUPPORT THIS PODCAST. BECOME A SUBSCRIBER TO THE CHINA AFRICA PROJECT. Your subscription supports independent journalism. Subscribers get the following: A daily email newsletter of the top China-Africa news. Access to the China-Africa Experts Network Unlimited access to the CAP's exclusive analysis content on chinaafricaproject.com

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Chinese Investment and Labor Practices in Ethiopia is an episode from The China in Africa Podcast by The China Africa Project.

This episode is 48:53 long.

This episode was published on Nov 15, 2019.

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