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 As the ranks of China's wealthy and the success of its corporations
grow, donating to good causes has yet to take off in a significant
way. China sits toward the bottom of the list of countries where
people give money to charity, volunteer or help a stranger,
according to The World Giving Index, compiled by the Charities Aid
Foundation.
Donations to charities totaled 98.9 billion yuan ($16.1 billion) in
2013, according to Chinese government data, recovering from two
straight years of declines. For comparison, Americans gave more than
$335 billion, according to the National Philanthropic Trust website.
Many big Chinese companies have invested in Africa - China is
Africa's leading trading partner - and some 200 operate in West
Africa, where Ebola has been at its most lethal, killing close to
5,000 people. These include construction, infrastructure and
telecoms firms such as Huawei Technology Co Ltd [HWT.UL], China
Henan International Cooperation Group and China Communications
Construction Co Ltd.
A Huawei spokeswoman said Africa was an important market, but
declined to comment on philanthropy or specific ventures in
Ebola-hit countries. China Henan and China Communications
Construction did not respond to requests for comment.
The World Food Programme (WFP) last month called on Chinese firms
and tycoons to donate more to fighting Ebola. "No one's been willing
to do anything big yet," said Brett Rierson, the WFP's China
representative.
The Ministry of Commerce said Chinese firms and industry
associations had pitched in to help transport medical equipment in
the region and donated around $600,000 in cash, food, oil and
motorcycles to local governments.
The state-owned China-Africa Development Fund plans to contribute
$450,000 to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - the three countries
most affected by the Ebola outbreak, said Fang Aiqing, vice minister
of commerce.
ROADS, CLINICS
Charity experts say Chinese construction firms with projects in the
worst affected regions could donate building materials and labor.
"They could easily step in and say: 'we'll help you clear roads and
put in emergency roads and clinics'," said Gary Rieschel, managing
partner at Qiming Venture Partners. "If they put their shoulders
behind moving some of the infrastructure for healthcare, they could
be incredibly valuable."
Fang at the Ministry of Commerce said aid from Chinese firms should
be led and coordinated by the government.
"They're unlikely to come forward independently and would assume the
government, which does have experience in contributing for
emergencies, will be better at knowing what to do," said Deborah
Brautigam, director of the China Africa Research Initiative and a
professor at Johns Hopkins University.
"They probably also wouldn't trust that cash donations to these
governments would be used responsibly."
China's Foreign Ministry, though, said it was encouraging businesses
operating in Africa to make their own contributions, but did not
note any specific examples. "We encourage these companies to
leverage their strengths and help these countries," Lin Songtian,
director general of the ministry's Department of African Affairs
told a briefing on Friday. "Chinese citizens in those countries have
a responsibility to share their experience as long as they can do so
while remaining safe."
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Dudley Thomas, Liberia's ambassador to China, said his government
was in talks with China-Union (Hong Kong) Mining Co Ltd, a unit of
Wuhan Iron and Steel Group [WHISG.UL], and the China-Africa
Development Fund, which facilitates investment, about possible
donations. He said Liberia secured one donation of $100,000 from a
large Chinese construction firm that has projects in the country,
but few other contributions.
"China's involvement (in West Africa) has been increasing year by
year, the share of their engagements is also becoming much bigger
than before," said He Wenping, director of African Studies at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "I think companies should aid
countries impacted by Ebola."
He said Chinese firms operating in West Africa and elsewhere in the
developing world are generally more likely to contribute to relief
for natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods.
TRUST DEFICIT
Philanthropy may also have been slow to catch on in China as there's
a lack of trust in non-profit groups after a string of scandals
involving charitable donations, experts said.
"It certainly makes them more cautious," noted Rieschel, adding the
Chinese government's lack of transparency in handling the outbreak
of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) just over a decade ago
may have contributed to eroding trust. "At an individual level, when
you look at how opaque the government was about SARS, there may be a
tendency to say 'we don't trust any government when it comes to
these things,'" he said.
In its latest Philanthropy List, released last week, the
Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute ranked Jack Ma, founder and
chairman of Alibaba and China's wealthiest individual, top with
donations of close to $2.4 billion. The report noted that most
philanthropic money in China goes toward education, ahead of social
services and disaster relief.
U.S. philanthropist Bill Gates wrote an editorial in the official
People's Daily newspaper in April calling for Chinese businesspeople
to give back to the poor, both at home and internationally. His Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $50 million to fight Ebola,
while Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has said he is donating more
than $100 million.
(Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
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