「中国国企满世界欠薪，“一带一路”变“一欠一路”（2025.11.05）」11月5日，来自几内亚西芒杜铁矿项目的一则罢工消息，在社交媒体上迅速引发全球中国海外劳工的关注。消息显示，该项目承建方山西建投公司长期拖欠中国工人工资，工人被迫连续三个月无薪工作，最终集体罢工、堵路维权。
当工人将相关视频与信息上传网络后，短时间内，来自非洲、东南亚、中东乃至欧洲的中国劳工纷纷留言，讲述自己所在项目同样被拖欠薪资的经历。这些零散的信息，拼凑出一个触目惊心而又长期被忽视的现实：中国国有企业在全球范围内的欠薪问题，正逐渐呈现出系统化、常态化的趋势。
根据不完全统计，工人所提到的欠薪事件波及亚洲、非洲、欧洲、美洲和大洋洲五大洲，涉及几内亚、坦桑尼亚、沙特阿拉伯、白俄罗斯、柬埔寨等十四个国家。被指拖欠薪资的企业几乎涵盖中国对外基建投资的中坚力量，包括中铁集团、中建集团、中国水电、中石油、中石化、中电建、中冶集团、中土公司、山西建投等。工人被拖欠工资的时间短则数月，长则半年甚至更久。
过去十余年，“一带一路”被中国政府视为国家级战略，用以展示中国的国际影响力与发展愿景。然而现实却是，多个项目的实际结果与最初承诺之间存在巨大落差，不少工程陷入停摆或烂尾。意大利、菲律宾、巴拿马等国甚至先后宣布退出相关合作。
与此同时，数以万计的海外中国劳工也逐渐陷入困境：他们在异国他乡修筑铁路、水坝、公路，干最苦的工作。但当项目因财政危机或政局动荡而停工时，他们往往成为最先被抛弃的一群人。他们拿不到自己的血汗钱，还要被公司甚至警察以“维护国家形象”“理解国家困难”为由，禁止在网络上求助。一旦他们尝试在网络上发声，便会遭遇威胁与压制，发布的信息通常也在数小时内被删除一空。
这些中国国有企业不仅拖欠中国工人工资，也拖欠当地人工资。不过，由于当地劳工受本国法律和工会保护，加之没有中国工人那么多软肋，拖欠他们工资更容易引发罢工甚至暴力冲突。所以，相对于当地工人，中国工人的工资更容易被拖欠。
如今，在中国的官方叙事中，“一带一路”已很少被提及。而那条曾被中共宣传为“现代丝绸之路”的“一带一路”，正在逐渐沦为充满烂尾和欠薪的“一欠一路”
Chinese State-Owned Enterprises Owe Wages Worldwide: “Belt and Road” Becomes “Owe and Road” (Nov 5, 2025)
On November 5, news of a strike at the Simandou iron mine project in Guinea quickly drew attention from Chinese overseas workers worldwide. Reports indicated that Shanxi Construction Investment, the project contractor, had long withheld wages from Chinese workers, forcing them to work unpaid for three consecutive months. Eventually, the workers staged a strike and blocked roads to demand payment.
After workers uploaded videos and information online, Chinese laborers from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe quickly responded, sharing their own experiences of unpaid wages on similar projects. These scattered accounts reveal a shocking and long-ignored reality: wage arrears by Chinese state-owned enterprises worldwide are becoming systematic and normalized.
According to incomplete statistics, reported cases of unpaid wages span five continents—Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania—and involve fourteen countries, including Guinea, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, and Cambodia. Companies accused of withholding wages include the backbone of China’s overseas infrastructure investment: China Railway Group, China State Construction, China Hydropower, PetroChina, Sinopec, PowerChina, China Metallurgical Group, China National Earthquake Engineering, and Shanxi Construction Investment. Workers have been left unpaid for months, sometimes over half a year.
For more than a decade, China has promoted the “Belt and Road Initiative” as a national-level strategy to showcase its international influence and development vision. In reality, however, many projects fall far short of their initial promises, with some halted or left unfinished. Italy, the Philippines, and Panama have even withdrawn from related projects.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Chinese overseas workers are increasingly vulnerable. They build railways, dams, and roads in foreign countries, performing the hardest labor. When projects stall due to financial crises or political instability, these workers are often the first to be abandoned. They cannot collect their hard-earned wages and are frequently prevented by companies—or even local authorities—from seeking help online under the pretext of “protecting national image” or “understanding national difficulties.” Any attempt to speak out online is met with threats and suppression, and posts are often deleted within hours.
These Chinese state-owned enterprises also withhold wages from local workers. However, local laborers are generally protected by national laws and labor unions and are less vulnerable than Chinese workers. Delaying their pay is more likely to provoke strikes or even violent conflict. As a result, Chinese workers’ wages are more easily withheld.
Today, in China’s official narrative, the “Belt and Road” is rarely mentioned. The initiative, once promoted as a “modern Silk Road,” is increasingly turning into a route defined by unfinished projects and unpaid wages—a true “Owe and Road.”