Adele Carrai

Abstract: As part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China is increasingly investing abroad and has become an important country for development financing. Many commentators have expressed concern that the country is defying the Western path of sustainable development guided by the rule of law and good governance standards. Adopting the frame of 'adaptive governance,' the presentation looks at the attitude of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) toward corporate social responsibility (CRS) in Chinese-Financed BRI Railroad Megaprojects in East Africa. Through a comparative case study of Chinese loans for infrastructure in East Africa (the Standard Gauge Railroad in Kenya and the Ethiopia-Djibouti railroad), the presentation offers a more systematic assessment of what kind of governance China is in fact practicing through the BRI and what are the reasons behind its ‘adaptive governance’ approach.