María Méndez gave a lecture with the theme of “Peru-China Building a Promising Partnership on the afternoon of July the 31st.Maríaia an expert in political and social affairs, a lecturer at several Peruvian universities, and the author of various publications. At present, Maríais a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations (IDEI) at the Catholic University of Peru as well as supervisingthe Institute for Nutrition, Education and Development (INED), a NGO which works to improve childhood development and parent education in Peru.. She also writes a weekly column for Lima daily “Expreso”.
This lecture was prepared into two parts, one directed on the cultural links and interaction between Peru and China, and the other focused on the positive effects of CSR in developing countries.
China and Peru have strong historical and cultural links. There are signs of Chinese culture from colonial Peru, such as a three hundred year old Chinese attic like ones built in the Song Dynasty located in downtown Lima, and the presence of “Chifan” restaurants, meaning Chinese food. Also, a well-known contemporary Peruvian corporation, Wang, is titled so because the founder is a Chinese immigrant named Wang.
Nowadays, the Peruvian economy is taking off, revealing itself through growing its exports, increasing foreign investment, and a rising middle class. These will decrease poverty levels as well as bring more demanding requirements for state leadership, social welfare and health care. In fact, Peruvian prosperity has a lot to do with China. Chinese growth surges the demand for raw material, which is quite abundant in Peru, especially ores. However, Maria is worried about the problem of environmental devastation by the mining industry. A developing Peru also faces other challenges, such as lack of trust in institutions, political fragmentation, regionalization and social conflicts.
When talking about CSP, Maria held up a piece of paper with pictures- a famous paradise for bird watching on one side, and the environmental devastation in Peru on the other side. Actually, the environmental problems are caused by illegal mining, deforestation, and excessive sewage, which remain unsolved because of the inaction of the corrupted local government. This leads to the moral question: should we damage the natural resource in favor of our own benefits? People from every work of life should definitely hold on to his/her moral standards when answering this question.
Corani, a Peruvian district abundant in mineral resources, is suffering from serious child malnutrition of 60%, largely owing to the city’s extreme poverty. One mining giant devotes a fraction of its revenue into the food and education industries, in order to ease malnutrition for the sake of the local people. This story teaches us that a responsible corporation should incorporate the local population’s happiness into its final goal. In this way, it can be more profitable.
At last, Maria focused on how to be a good enterprise. The most important feature is to build a good image, the result of high product quality and ethical behavior. Secondly, it should try to balance its financial goals with sustainable development. Building a solid partnership with local communities is also an intangible asset to a company.
After hearing the entire speech, I understand the relationships between China and Peru are much better. I wondered what the developed world role is in the international economy. I think China and Peru should help the developing world with their sustainable development since we all live on the same planet and are therefore equally responsible. In my opinion, it is irresponsible for companies to move polluting factories to poor countries.
A company can make a better profit through devoting a certain amount of resources into fulfilling its social responsibility. Our generation will become the future leaders of the world’s corporations, so today’s instruction makes much sense to me.
Written by Chen Xiaoqiang,
Nanjing University of Information Science &Technology
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