Advertisement

Western-funded green groups ‘stir up trouble’ in China

Beijing think tank blames environmentalists for damaging China's reputation in Mekong region

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
The Irrawaddy River in Myanmar was the site of the giant Myistone Dam project that was shelved after local Kachin protests. Photo: AP

Western-funded green groups are wrongly accusing mainland companies of causing environment destruction and creating social problems in Southeast Asia to restrain China's economic influence in countries along the Mekong River, a top government think tank claims in a new report published yesterday.

Two studies, part of a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences annual report on co-operation and development in the Greater Mekong sub-region, admitted that agricultural, mining and hydro projects with Chinese investment had caused adverse environmental impact in countries including Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

It is true that Chinese companies were not doing enough to protect the local ecology, but environmental groups' exaggerated claims have severely damaged China's reputation
Professor Lu Guangsheng, unnan University's institute of Southeast Asian studies

But international environmental groups working in the region, most of which receive funding from Western countries, were also "irresponsibly attacking Chinese investors and misleading local communities with biased reports", aimed at limiting China's economic influence in the region, the studies said.

Such negative publicity, without granting Chinese companies an opportunity to reply, could also cripple China's global investment ambitions outside the Mekong region, the studies warned.

China has already suffered economic losses after several Chinese-funded projects - including the Myitsone Dam and a copper mine in Myanmar and a real estate project in Cambodia - were either suspended or scrapped following protests over environmental concerns by local communities.

"It is true that Chinese companies were not doing enough to protect the local ecology, but environmental groups' exaggerated claims have severely damaged China's reputation," said Professor Lu Guangsheng from Yunnan University's institute of Southeast Asian studies, one of the authors of the studies.

Advertisement