Few companies responded to the allegations of human rights abuse

Only 24% of the Chinese companies accused of human rights violations responded to the allegations, the report said. Most of them, it added, referred to their commitments local laws rather than international laws, a situation that the report says may be problematic, particularly for host countries that have weakly written or enforced laws.

The report suggests a number of measures to address the human rights issues. The researchers said Chinese companies should:

“Given the challenges illustrated in this report, there are great opportunities for companies, business associations, the governments of China and countries hosting investments to further strengthen the regulatory environment and its implementation by Chinese companies operating overseas,” the report adds.

Sign up to the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief here for news and analysis on African business, tech, and innovation in your inbox.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.