Chinese firms can’t get away with abusing workers overseas

Beijing can control much of what happens inside China. What happens when Chinese companies go abroad is another matter.

This month, Hungarian labor inspectors sanctioned three contractors involved in building BYD’s electric vehicle factory in Szeged. In Brazil, a court ordered contractors at BYD’s Brazilian factory to pay more than $7 million in damages, half of which was for compensation for affected workers.

This month, China’s State Council issued its Regulations on Outbound Investment, set to take effect July 1. Much of the outside commentary has focused on national security and investment review. But equally notable is something else: For the first time, a state council-level outbound investment regulatory framework explicitly requires enterprises to protect workers’ rights and comply with the laws of host countries.

This is no coincidence. As Chinese companies expand overseas, they operate in an information environment defined by independent trade unions, free media, regulatory agencies and civil society organizations that are beyond Beijing’s control.

Over the last several years, problems with labor conditions at Chinese overseas projects have appeared with increasing frequency in international media. The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times and Reuters have all reported on wage theft, forced labor allegations, workplace injuries and labor rights disputes at Chinese-run operations abroad.

More importantly, this information travels back to China. When Brazilian authorities rescued more than 160 workers — most of them Chinese nationals — from a BYD construction site in Bahia state in 2024, local labor inspectors........

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