Chinese enterprises in Uganda deepen people-to-people ties: report

KAMPALA -- Chinese enterprises in Uganda are deepening the people-to-people ties between local and Chinese communities through their corporate social responsibility work, a new report has said.

The document, titled "Chinese Enterprises Social Responsibility Report 2022," was launched by Uganda's Vice President Jessica Alupo at an event held Tuesday in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

The report, which sampled 21 out of 129 member enterprises of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Uganda, showed that the enterprises have supported local communities by providing medical camps, scholarships, knowledge and skills training, and renovation of schools, among others.

Vice President Alupo said China continues to play a pivotal role in fast-tracking Uganda's development, especially in the transport and energy infrastructure sector. China financed the construction of Uganda's two major hydropower plants and is now involved in the expansion of the country's Entebbe International Airport.

Alupo said China also extended tariff- and quota-free entry of up to 98 percent of Ugandan tariff-line products to the Chinese market.

Uganda now has to work on boosting production and quality to take advantage of the Chinese market, she said.

Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong said that following the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held last year in Senegal, more projects will be carried out to directly improve the livelihood of local communities.

"While carrying out practical cooperation projects in Uganda, Chinese enterprises have always attached great importance to social responsibility work," Zhang said. "They have carried out a series of small but beautiful social responsibility projects that benefit local people in the areas of medical and health care, job creation, education empowerment, and environmental protection."

Li Jincheng, chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Uganda, said Chinese enterprises have played an active role through charity work and public events like combating natural disasters and equipping hospitals and schools through donations, which help strengthen the friendship between the Chinese and Ugandan peoples.

There are about 350 Chinese companies in Uganda involved in such sectors as trade, project contracting, and oil and mineral resources development, Li said.