By Jared Njuguna
China’s Xi Jinping set the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as the country’s key agenda under the pretext of promising enormous economic support to Africa in 2013.
This set the tempo for various projects to take place in the continent.
Accordingly, China’s local governments, including Zhejiang and Henan, utilized state-owned companies located in each of their jurisdiction in order to seek ways to make inroads into Africa as part of their efforts to deliver the BRI projects.
However, after the recent disclosure that the construction and industrial sites affiliated with the BRI initiative in Africa have hired a large number undocumented North Koreans or those disguised as Chinese nationals, China has come under criticism for turning those sites into a hotbed of activities violating the UN sanctions.
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Both Chinese private companies and state-run companies have been involved in the illicit act of clandestinely employing North Korean personnel at a low cost, supporting the North’s illegal foreign currency earning activities.
In particular, North Korean laborers hired for China’s BRI projects are suffering from poor conditions, living on a bowl of salted rice in the basement altogether, officials reveal.
Though China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is mandated to fully implement the resolutions that the UN Security Council adopted against North Korea in 2017, Chinese authorities have been overtly assisting the North’s illegal activities for the benefit of the BRI projects.
Cases of Chinese companies hiring North Korean laborers in Africa are rampant. For instance, in Algeria ZCIGC, a powerful company run by the state in Zhejiang province illegally hired about 170 North Koreans for its construction projects, including the construction of apartments in Douera, Algiers, supporting the North’s financial activities.
As the first state-owned company to be established in Zhejiang out of the 16 total, ZCIGC has been focused on making inroads into the North African construction market, starting from Algeria, in accordance with the government’s BRI initiative.
For years, it has been listed as one of the top 250 international contractors, top 60 Chinese contractors, and top 100 tax payers in Zhejiang province in the ENR (an international construction industry magazine) rankings.
It has received National May Day Labor Medal, and the title of Zhejiang Top 10 International Investment Enterprise from the Chinese government.
Furthermore, Chinese constructors (Oran-Pekin Construction, Zhongma International, Sarl 3 Construction Engineering de DongYang ) running their businesses in Bir El-Djir, Oran, which is Algeria’s second largest city, have also been secretly hiring North Korean laborers at their construction sites, making sure they are not exposed to the public.
Investigations show the practice is rampant and open with impunity amid calls to address the issue.
Those in the know say North Koreans working for the BRI construction projects are suffering from poor conditions, living on a bowl of salted rice in the basement altogether.
After the opening of North Korean Embassy in Algeria in September 2013, the number of North Korean laborers in the country soared to about 300, but most of them returned to the North after sanctions were imposed on the regime in 2017.
However, it is presumed that there are still about 170 North Koreans only in Algiers, who are illicitly working for Chinese construction companies.
In Mauritius, a Chinese fishing company was caught hiring North Korean sailors, documenting them as Chinese nationals.
On December 6, 2022, Mauritius’ Passport and Immigration Office (PIO) apprehended six North Korean sailors disguised as Chinese nationals on board Vessel Jin Xiang 8, owned by China’s Huanqiu Tuna Fishing Dalian Company.
Though the captain of the vessel, Wang Wong, presumed to be Chinese, initially stated that all of the 14 sailors are Chinese nationals, the Mauritian authorities confirmed that six of them are actually North Koreans who entered the territory and boarded the ship without permission.
The North Korean sailors are now detained in Le Chaland Detention Center.
In accordance with the Mauritian Immigration Act, the captain was fined 10,000 Rupee after detention.
The detained North Koreans will be repatriated to the North without a trial as soon as they are ready for departure.
In Senegal, China Henan, a Chinese state-owned company in Henan, hired -13 North Korean laborers for Tuba’s city modernization project.
About 50 North Korean workers in Senegal are currently working at multiple construction sites, such as for hotel construction projects.
There have been ceaseless indications of North Korea and China involved in activities that infringe sanctions, such as hiring North Koreans for the projects.
A case in point is China Henan and North Korea’s Korea South Corporation taking part in Touba’s modernization project.
The Senegalese government has improved Touba’s water supply and sewerage infrastructure in March 2022 and promulgated its plan to construct a highway that crosses the city in May 2022, promoting the modernization of the city.
These cases point to a continued support of North Korea through the Chinese companies hence need for action to stop the trend.
Njuguna is a security expert focusing on diplomacy
