Chinese multinational corporations’ obligations in the global anti-corruption: levelling the playing field in Africa

Bribery and corruption are major problems in both China and Africa. The former is also the biggest investor in Africa, building major infrastructure projects in the continent. With the two realities interacted, the Beijing Model of development indicates that a regime without adequate rule of law and democracy has still substantially developed its economy. Such a counter-conventional trajectory raises many questions: would s 164 of the PRC Criminal Law dealing with extraterritorial effect serve a deterrent role in combating bribery against China’s multinational corporations (MNCs) in Africa? In terms of levelling the playing field between Western MNCs and their Chinese counterparts, do China’s guanxi and the West’s networking differentiate each other in any meaningful sense? Would Western MNCs be disadvantaged by such tough anti-bribery laws as the UK Bribery Act 2010 and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)? The chapter focuses on the relationship between China and Africa in the context of corruption. Viewed from an interdisciplinary perspective, Chinese MNCs have a competitive advantage over their Western rivals in the short term, but not sustainably. With pros and cons taken into consideration, it is arguably held that China’s effort in tackling bribery and corruption plays a positive role in Africa, but facilitates Africa’s anti-corruption incrementally. A sustainable development will depend upon whether the long-standing endeavour against corruption can be implemented from the African continent internally, after all, neither China nor the West serve as primary driving forces in rooting out the global challenge of corruption!