China in Transnational Extractives Governance: A Mapping Exercise

Abstract

China became one of the biggest players in the global extractive resource supply chain, along with increasing extractive resource demand for green industries. Interestingly, over the last two decades, Chinese actors started participating in transnational extractive governance initiatives (TEGI) supporting transparency, a norm for governance-by-disclosure. This article aims to answer the question of what types of Chinese actors engage in what TEGIs regarding transparency. Based on mapping forty-eight TEGIs, this article shows a nuanced pattern of China’s involvement in extractives governance beyond a dualistic approach to China in global governance—whether China is a threat or nonthreat. Importantly, China does not act as a unified monolithic actor; rather, different types of actors engage TEGIs distinctively. Chinese corporations are most actively engaging in thin transparency TEGIs lacking stringent verification rules and featuring limited multistakeholder participation. It could potentially accelerate the risk of green washing of those companies and disempower weaker actors.