China defends labour export to Malawi

With a population hovering above 1.3 billion,  jobs are not easy to find in China, hence the labour export strategy to other countries, a Chinese economic expert has said.

Former diplomat and Chinese expert in international relations Zhang Yuanyuan  justified the ‘labour export strategy when asked as to why  Chinese-aided or financed construction projects in Malawi are all done by Chinese nationals and Chinese companies.

Zhang said the move is part of his government policy to curb unemployment rate.

He was speaking during a lecture on the ‘Secret behind China Growing Economy,’ on the sidelines of a Seminar of Youth Development and Sports Management organised for a Malawi delegation currently underway at the Academy for International Business in Beijing.

“We might be the second largest economy in the world, but with our large population, jobs are not enough and every year over 10 million people are graduating from college, but [find] no employment. We are still a developing country and so if there is employment opportunity in other countries where we have diplomatic relations, we have to utilise that,” said Zhang, a former diplomat to Belgium and New Zealand but also on African affairs.

He, however, emphasised that despite exporting labour, their aid to Malawi or any other developing country has no conditions attached.

“If the people of Malawi are not happy with this, they should not blame China, but their government for not negotiating well with our government. So, maybe the rules in your country did not check against that. As China, we have our own regulations governing when a foreign firm invests in our country,” he said.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relation in 2008, China through its grant has constructed several projects in Malawi, like the Parliament Building, the Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must), the Bingu International Conference Centre and currently is building a stadium in Lilongwe.