The textile and apparel industry is a pioneer in the industrial field and is ahead in many aspects, including corporate social responsibility work; in terms of overseas investment, China's textile and apparel industry is also one of the first to "go global".
 
However, these enterprises lacked the local support of professional institutions for a long time after "going out", so they had to fight alone, and this is also a remarkable history.
 
Social Risks Facing China's Overseas Investment
Data released by the Ministry of Commerce in the first half of the year showed that although China's overseas investment flow declined in 2017, it was still one of the most important investors in the world, ranking third in the world.
In terms of stock, we have become the second in the world, and the stock growth trend is very fast. In addition, in 2017, our investment in the "Belt and Road" region accounted for 12.5% ​​of the total flow of overseas investment, and the growth rate was also very fast.
These data are very encouraging, but at the same time there are some systemic risks.
First, where did our investments go? In 2017, more than 80% of China's overseas investment flows were invested in Asia, Africa and Latin America. These regions are relatively fragile in all aspects of society and environment, and their political stability is relatively poor. From an investment perspective, they are areas with higher risks.
From an industry perspective, more than one-third of Chinese overseas enterprises are now engaged in manufacturing, which requires the full use of various local resources including land, energy, environmental capacity, labor, and community relations, so it is easier to It has various impacts on local society and environment.
In addition, since 2017, the ownership structure of China's overseas investment stock has also undergone fundamental changes, with more than 50% of the overseas investment stock currently belonging to private enterprises. Private companies, on the other hand, tend to make short-term business decisions and do not have much resources and capabilities to solve many problems, including their social impact. Therefore, regardless of the location, industry, or ownership structure of my country's overseas investment, systematic overseas investment risks, especially social risks, are constantly increasing.
 Judging from the case, in recent years, there have been more and more cases of various incidents in overseas investment, and more and more problems have arisen in private enterprises. For example, Chinese companies have repeatedly struck strikes in Myanmar, which also shows that our overseas investment The risks are getting bigger and bigger. Of course, this risk is accompanied by the expansion and layout of our industry.
Taking the textile and garment industry as an example, 15 years ago, most of the garments we saw were "Made in China" (Made in China). Chance. But now, more and more manufacturing is moving to Southeast Asian countries, with Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan as the main destinations - China is one of the main investors in these countries. For example, the latest data from Myanmar shows that there are about 600 clothing and footwear enterprises in the local area, of which nearly 70% are directly invested by Chinese in Greater China or re-exported by Chinese through Singapore, which also makes Myanmar's industrialization in recent times. It has developed very rapidly in recent years.
 At the same time, China has also formed an organic "regional supply chain ecosystem" in the textile and garment industry with neighboring countries. This system has enabled our industry to achieve the improvement we have always hoped to achieve. We have become the most important provider of capital, technology, and raw materials in these countries. At the same time, China is also becoming one of the most important markets in these countries. one. This is an ecosystem that looks very exciting because its prospects are very good - a prospect that depends on the continuous growth of Chinese capital, the continuous export of Chinese technology, and the growth of our domestic market. It should be said that this is a situation that is beneficial to all parties.
 
Lead the investment to sustainable development
Therefore, China's textile and apparel industry has a natural responsibility to maintain this system.
Since 2015, we have officially launched our overseas sustainable development action, which starts with the establishment of regional and local industry networks.
First of all, we have formed a regional industry cooperation network with industry organizations in these countries, including 9 industry organizations in 6 countries including China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan (representing about 70% of the world's apparel exports ), whose mission is to foster dialogue on sustainable supply chain systems, including seeking to improve the structure of the distribution of benefits along the supply chain.
In addition, we also support textile and garment enterprises in these countries to set up local business associations of China's textile and garment industry, and become local spokespersons and coordinators of industry interests.
 We spent nearly 2 years doing very in-depth research in 4 countries, and on the basis of completing the research report, we did three important things, including capacity improvement, development of investment guidelines and policy advocacy.
 What are the key findings from these surveys? First of all, we found that most Chinese-invested textile and garment enterprises can take root in these countries and make money. On the other hand, on the whole, we even feel that in some countries, the behavioral practices and standards of some companies in the field of social responsibility are better than those of domestic factories.
 An important reason is that these countries have a relatively effective multi-stakeholder monitoring mechanism. For example, in Cambodia, the ILO is authorized by the local government, and their auditors can go to the factory for inspection anytime, anywhere without notice.
So what are the main problems faced by Chinese overseas investment textile and garment enterprises? Taking Myanmar as an example, after interviewing business owners and managers in Myanmar, we came to the conclusion: the first is language and cultural barriers, the second is the level and skills of employees, the third is the influence of social organizations, and the fourth It is an industrial support system. The first three most important issues are closely related to corporate social responsibility.
 
Of course, there are legal compliance issues on top of this. In addition to the poor awareness of legal risks in some companies, this is also related to the poor availability of local laws. Many companies sometimes do not know where to obtain valid legal texts.
Another is cross-cultural management, which is not only a common problem, but also a serious problem. We believe that a lot of experience actually exists, but there is a lack of summary and improvement. On the other hand, I think a starting point of cross-cultural management also includes influencing some cultural practices that contradict basic principles and universal values.
 For example, Myanmar is a society where men are superior to women, and it is also a Buddhist country. However, when worshiping Buddha in temples in Myanmar, men who are closer to the Buddha statue are men, and women are farther away from the Buddha statue, and there seems to be an invisible line between them. Since almost every Chinese-funded enterprise in Myanmar has Buddhist halls for employees to worship, we will tell these Chinese-funded enterprises that, at least within your enterprise, our managers cannot encourage this kind of cultural practice where men are close to women, and cannot support unequal. Therefore, some companies repeatedly explain to their employees the requirements and significance of gender equality in the factory. I see now that in these factories, all employees pay homage to Buddhist temples without any difference, and there is no difference between distance and rank.
This shows that our enterprises can also bring about some positive changes in local social phenomena, and do not necessarily have to cater to a wrong position. Of course, it will take a long time, a lot of investment and patience to make the change happen. In addition, the problem of strikes is the same. What our enterprises lack (skills) is how to deal with social organizations, which often requires a combination of legal rigidity and cultural flexibility. In this regard, our business needs more tempering.