What does ＂CSR Coalition in Africa＂ mean to China's CSR?

On September 3, President Xi Jinping proposed to “support the establishment of Chinese CSR Coalition in Africa” in his keynote speech at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which triggered broad consensus and was included in the subsequent Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) - Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021).
 
The establishment of Chinese CSR Coalition in Africa is not only an initiative and requirement for Chinese enterprises to develop responsibly in Africa, but also a direction for the CSR development, especially the overseas social responsibility fulfillment of Chinese enterprises. It will promote the CSR development in China to enter a new phase.

 
Corporate social responsibility underlies Chinese enterprises to have business and development overseas. In recent years, the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative inspires more and more enterprises to realize the importance of social responsibility fulfillment. They have strengthened their social responsibility management, and carried out diverse social responsibility practices, thus winning the recognition of regional and international communities. 
 
The China International Contractors Association, China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters and China National Textile and Apparel Council have strengthened the industrial social responsibility performance through developing industrial social responsibility guidelines, providing capacity building and performance evaluation of social responsibilities where remarkable results have been achieved.
 
Nevertheless, the diversified social responsibility standards and differentiated concerns and expectations of stakeholders also plunges the Chinese enterprises in dilemma, such as lack of a clear understanding of overseas social responsibility, may not have been as well-targeted as it could have been, and less obvious effectiveness.
 
To get out of the dilemma requires open collaborative thinking and consistent overall action.
 
The establishment of the CSR Coalition can incorporate the overseas social responsibility development of Chinese enterprises into the overall work of China, and fundamentally solve the problems above. It will help the Chinese enterprises achieve the goal of “becoming an image ambassador of the Belt and Road Initiative”.
 
The Coalition aims to promote cooperation.  “If you want to go fast, walk alone; and if you want to go far, walk together”. In the past, Chinese enterprises plan and fulfill their social responsibilities overseas alone. Even in the same region, they were lack of communication and cooperation. They enjoy their own resource advantages and, however, also lack other resources to varying degrees.
 
The Coalition will help enterprises gather dispersed goals and actions to realize resource sharing so as to achieve better results.
 
The Coalition can also attract the support of professional organizations and promote the maximized economic, social and environmental values brought by Chinese enterprises’ CSR actions overseas.
 
The Coalition functions as a mechanism.  “The foundation of humanity lies in the system”. The Coalition can promote consensus among all parties in consultation and form a positive pattern in market competition.
 
“Promotion” and “cultivation” should become the core mechanism of the Coalition to promote the market rules where “good money drives out bad”, and foster a business atmosphere that supports responsible decision-making and operation, which will be an significant role of the Coalition for the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.
 
The Coalition's influences are wide-ranging.  Countless individuals come together for this cause”. In the context where the social responsibility and sustainable development are becoming a global trend, the Coalition can mobilize all the forces for cooperation, leverage the role of CSR to promote the development of Chinese enterprises overseas, and drive more Chinese enterprises to the path of responsible operation.
 
At the same time, the Coalition should strengthen its influence and shoulder the task of Chinese enterprises to become the image ambassador of the Belt and Road Initiative by leveraging various of communication means and formats.