What’s new: Members of China’s top political advisory body have noted that Chinese enterprises are facing tremendous challenges managing their overseas assets amid global economic and geopolitical uncertainty, as well as tighter oversight from foreign governments.
Tu Guangshao and Zhao Haiying, members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), have suggested that authorities instruct Chinese enterprises to abide by the laws in the places they invest in.
What’s the background: Some Chinese enterprises have been getting into hot water overseas recently, especially in the U.S. Recent examples include a fraud scandal at Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee Inc. and the new U.S. sanctions on tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
Tu and Zhao said many developed countries are increasingly resorting to protectionism in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unless Chinese companies address this challenge, regulators abroad will be more likely to see them as arms of the government.
Zhao is an executive vice president of China Investment Corp., the country’s sovereign wealth fund. Tu is one of its former presidents.
Related: New Huawei Sanctions by U.S. Are Less Than Meet the Eye, Lawyers Say
Contact reporter Guo Yingzhe (yingzheguo@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
