Jinjiang Group Under Fire in Human Trafficking Claims

Overview

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s Jinjiang Group is facing scrutiny after Brazil’s labor authorities reported that workers at a factory it is constructing for electric vehicle maker BYD (SZ:002594) were victims of human trafficking, enduring “slavery-like conditions”.

Jinjiang has denied these claims regarding workers being in slavery-like situations and has not responded to requests concerning the trafficking accusations. China’s foreign ministry indicated ongoing communication with Brazil and affirmed that Chinese companies must operate lawfully.

About Jinjiang Group

Privately held Jinjiang – translating to “gold craftsman” – was founded in 2002 and specializes in property construction services. It is headquartered in Shenzhen, which is synonymous with BYD.

Chairman Ma Jianbin’s alma mater, the Sichuan College of Architectural Technology, noted on social media in 2021 that Jinjiang employs 1,500 staff and generates annual revenue of 3 billion yuan ($400 million).
Major clients include prominent Chinese property developers like Vanke, Longfor, and Country Garden (HK:2007).

Jinjiang is led by Ma Jianwei, whose personal details are unavailable according to the Chinese companies database Tianyancha.

Jinjiang’s Role with BYD

In addition to the Brazilian factory, Jinjiang is also engaged in constructing BYD’s facilities throughout China in cities like Changzhou, Yangzhou, and Hefei, based on records from Tianyancha and job listings on Chinese social media.

Recent job postings indicated that Jinjiang was looking for workers for BYD projects in Xian, Shaanxi, and Zhengzhou. They also provided assistance to BYD for its Skyrail elevated monorail system in China.
While it remains unclear if Jinjiang is involved in BYD projects abroad in places like Hungary, Mexico, Thailand, and Uzbekistan, it has been recruiting positions in Hungary, including forklift drivers and logistics specialists.
Additionally, Jinjiang is hiring hydraulic and steel structure engineers in Turkey, alongside translators for Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hungarian, without mentioning BYD.

Work Safety Record

From 2018 to 2022, Jinjiang faced court orders to compensate workers in five work accident disputes, according to Tianyancha.
This included fines in three recent cases for violating worker safety laws, while a penalty record indicates that in May 2022, a worker at a BYD construction site in Hefei died in an accident. Jinjiang, the project’s main contractor, was fined 310,000 yuan alongside two subcontractors in 2023 for failing to properly implement safety measures.

Responses from Jinjiang and BYD Regarding Brazil Claims

Jinjiang responded on its Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) account, claiming that the depiction of workers as “enslaved” was misleading and that misunderstandings in translation caused confusion.
A video was posted showing a group of Chinese workers, one of whom read a statement saying the claims about their rescue were insulting and expressed their desire to keep their jobs in Brazil.

Initially, BYD stated it had severed ties with Jinjiang, but this statement was later refuted by a BYD executive on social media, who accused “foreign forces” and certain Chinese media of deliberately undermining Chinese brands and Sino-Brazilian relations.

Brazil’s Labor Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that BYD and Jinjiang would provide assistance and accommodations for the 163 workers in hotels until their contracts could be settled.

> ($1 = 7.2992 Chinese yuan renminbi)