trade_chinapolicybrief_vi-b352de64aca7e079.pdf

This policy brief examines China's expanding economic role in the Mekong region, specifically its investments in natural resources, energy, and infrastructure in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It highlights China's strategic shift toward securing foreign resources to fuel its domestic industrial growth and the resulting environmental and social challenges in host countries.

• China has significantly increased its foreign direct investment (FDI) to secure a stable and cheap supply of natural resources. In the first half of 2005, Chinese enterprises invested 4.1 billion dollars abroad, a nearly 250% increase over 2004. Total outward investment for 2006 was estimated to reach 16 billion dollars.
• China's domestic industrial demand has made it a global leader in the consumption of various minerals and materials. By 2002, it was the world's largest consumer of copper, and it currently leads in the consumption of aluminum, zinc, and nickel. Its natural rubber consumption reached 3.45 million tons in 2002 (18.2% of the global total), with demand projected to reach 11.5 million tons per year by 2020.
• The "Going Global" strategy, initiated around 2004, aims to ensure national energy security by diversifying oil imports, building strategic crude oil reserves, and encouraging resource extraction investments abroad through subsidies and relaxed foreign exchange controls.
• In the Mekong region, China has filled an investment gap left by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank and ADB, which have become hesitant to fund projects with high social and environmental risks. China's investment model is based on "soft power," friendship, and relationships rather than strict human rights, democratic, or environmental standards.
• Trade between China and the GMS countries (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) is characterized by a pattern where China imports raw materials and exports manufactured goods. Over 90% of exports from these three countries to China consist of agricultural products and raw materials.
• Chinese state-owned enterprises are driving resource extraction in the region. Notable examples include CNMIC's copper mining in Vietnam and bauxite mining in Laos, and Sinohydro's involvement in approximately 21 hydropower projects across Laos and Cambodia.
• Illegal trade and smuggling are prevalent in the region's trade with China. This includes smuggled coal and rubber from Vietnam, and cross-border smuggling of sugar, cassava, corn, and timber in northern Laos, as well as suspected smuggling of gold and minerals in Cambodia.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). trade_chinapolicybrief_vi-b352de64aca7e079.pdf. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_chinapolicybrief_vi.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. trade_chinapolicybrief_vi-b352de64aca7e079.pdf. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_chinapolicybrief_vi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=trade_chinapolicybrief_vi-b352de64aca7e079.pdf |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_chinapolicybrief_vi.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndtradechinapolicybriefvib352de64aca7e079pdf, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{trade\_chinapolicybrief\_vi-b352de64aca7e079.pdf}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_chinapolicybrief_vi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }