The Chinese government has stated that penalties should be applied to its citizens who violate the laws in African countries.
This was made known by the Director-General of the Department of African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wu Peng, who raised concern on issues of substandard goods.
He spoke to reporters in Beijing, at a session of the China Africa Press Center (CAPC) program, which was organized by the China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA).
The official wants the complaints about substandard goods to be jointly addressed by China and Africa.
“If some Chinese in Africa violate the rule of law, they must face consequences, no doubt about it,” NAN quoted Wu Peng saying.
“Our government always advocates that our nationals must respect African people, respect your culture and follow the rule of law of local country.”
According to Peng, the Chinese government do encourage firms and nationals living and working in Africa to support local communities via social responsibility.
He acknowledged that there are some bad apples that do awful things, but he said that these are not typical of all Chinese people.
Peng reaffirmed that his government does not see crimes committed by few Africans as indicative of all Africans.
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“The same thing applies if Chinese nationals violate the Rule of Law, we condemn it.”
He reiterated China’s respect and high regard for Africa, saying, “we also respect our own Rule of Law to handle these kinds of cases.”
The DG said that the problem of substandard products was “commercial” and shouldn’t have an impact on politics or bilateral ties.
Peng made the claim that the government was aware of the fact that African businessmen come to China to purchase goods and transport back to Africa.
“Whether these kinds of stuffs are made in China, it must reach the national standard. We have an inspection procedure of goods exported to China.”
Peng urged for collaboration to address the quality of some items that fall short of African consumers’ expectations.
“Let us work together to fight against counterfeit or smuggling, we do not like it at all. We should uphold the Rule of Law to fight against it,” he added.
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