While more and more Chinese enterprises are going global and develop businesses in the international economic arena, their compliance capability has reported remarkable improvement, helping them gain a bigger share in the global market.
However, with an increasingly more complex external environment, the challenges and risks facing Chinese enterprises are surging more than ever, said Su Wei, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at a training program focusing on compliance management in Belt and Road investments.
Held by the NDRC, China's top economic planner, in central China's Henan Province, the training has attracted around 100 participants from both state-owned and private domestic firms.
"Our company has always paid high attention to the compliance with local laws and regulations in our overseas businesses, which I think is the key to some extent to the success of investment in a foreign country," said Gong Shuangxi from the Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Co. Ltd.
Established in 2011, the provincial government-owned company had soon expanded its businesses to Europe by seizing opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative.
By acquiring 35-percent equity in Cargolux Airlines International, the largest cargo airline in Europe, the company opened the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg air route and introduced a new freight service between China and Europe.
Now, around 18 flights are operated each week between Luxembourg and Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan, and the international cargo transport has maintained annual growth of over 40 percent, according to Gong.
Respecting, having a good understanding of and complying with the laws, regulations, social customs as well as living habits of the country plays a significant role in securing the success of overseas investment, said Gong, who attributed his emphasis on compliance management to his overseas working experience of more than 10 years.
While for Huang Youquan, an official from the China Western Power Industrial Co. Ltd., a provider of power plant boiler and power station auxiliary equipment in southwest China's Sichuan Province, compliance management in overseas projects has helped transform the traditional experience-based management model to a law and rule-based one.
Founded in 1983, the company started its large-scale "going abroad" drive after 2015 and has established several Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects for garbage burned power generation.
Compliance requirements clearly outlined the rights and obligations of the investors, which in turn act as a reference in reducing risks, according to Huang.
While enterprises are propping up their efforts in strengthening overseas compliance, authorities have also strengthened guidance in the sector with a guideline issued earlier this year, serving as a reference for Chinese enterprises when going global.
The guideline put forward compliance requirements for the enterprises' four major activities, including foreign trade, overseas investment, foreign contracted projects and overseas daily operations, emphasizing the whole-process and all-round compliance for the overseas business activities.
In the process of overseas project construction, Chinese enterprises should take into consideration both the economic efficiency and social responsibility of the local area, Su noted.
Meanwhile, with the progress of the Belt and Road, related countries and regions, as well as international organizations, have reached a broad consensus on policy coordination and cooperation, which will surely further facilitate the enterprises' overseas compliance operations, he added.
