BEIJING, Feb 28 (Reuters) - China has issued environmental and social responsibility guidelines for its companies investing overseas, in an acknowlegement of the poor reputation that Chinese investors often hold.
The guidelines, jointly issued on Thursday by the Ministry of Commerce and Environment Ministry, require environmental assesment and social impact studies for new projects. They must also meet environmental standards.
The guidelines also call for hiring locals -- often a point of contention given Chinese firms' penchant for importing labour crews from China.
"There are some companies that, due to lack of experience with environmental work overseas, are in urgent need of advice from the government based on its international experience and practical knowledge from other companies," said Chen Lin, an official with Mofcom's international investment and economic cooperation department, according to a transcript posted on the ministry's website.
China's growing economy and cut-throat competition at home has pushed companies overseas to secure natural resources, build infrastructure, sell surplus production and, increasingly, to establish factories elsewhere in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Non-financial outbound investment by Chinese firms reached ${esc.dollar}77.2 billion in 2012, a rise of 28.6 percent over the previous year.
For several years, Mofcom has attempted to educate Chinese investors headed overseas on the need to understand local regulations and mediate when they run afoul of local laws.
Bie Tao, from the Ministry of Environment's law and policy department, acknowledged that China's domestic environmental laws remained weak while enforcement and transparency was often lacking. (Reporting By Lucy Hornby; Editing by Ron Popeski)
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