Author: Xiufang Sun, Peng Ren, Marissa Van Epp.

Chinese activities in African forests have a wide range of impacts. In some places, Chinese firms appear to comply with corporate social responsibility requirements and contribute to the welfare of local communities, and there is some evidence of increasing concern over forest sustainability. However, for the majority of Chinese timber companies, responsible purchasing policies have yet to be implemented. And while China’s investment in African forests remains a small share of its total investment in the continent, and accounts for a relatively small proportion of its total forest product imports each year, China has become the key destination for timber exported from many African countries.