Since the agreements on the 2030 Agenda and the Financing of development (AAAA) agreement in 2015, the member countries of the United Nations have agreed that domestic and foreign direct investment are expected to be aligned with the 2030 Agenda.
The 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda are supposed to be achieved in an integrated manner focusing at the same time on social, economic and environmental sustainability and be implemented in a transparent, inclusive and participatory manner.

In order to achieve these 17 goals and guiding principles, very substantial financial investment will be required. According to the 2014 World Investment Report (WIR) by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), approximately 4 trillion USD will be required every year in developing countries alone for the SDGs to be achieved by2030.

Historically, China had prior experience in interacting with Africa.  In the first half of 15^th Century, Admiral Zhen reached Madagascar already with his fleet of “treasure boats”.  Traders from the neighboring countries and dominions joint the fleet in order to benefit from the trading opportunities. This was the first official trade mission by the Chinese Ming Emperor.  Such missions continued for more than 15 years and came to a halt. The Belt and Road Initiative is a systematic effort of the Chinese government to foster a stronger economic and political link with its neighbours in the Southeast Asia and beyond reaching the shore of Africa once again.  In the geopolitical context of the post cold war period and the accelerated economic and technological catching up by China, such a concerted effort like BRI is causing concerns and anxieties in many quarters. Wherever there is a Chinese international trade policy, Chinese companies follow.  Interactions with the host countries, either the community or the labour force or suppliers, is achieving mixed results.

Faced with global concerns about increasing vulnerability of the global system and its sustainability, private companies are asked and encouraged to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through multi-sectoral partnerships. Implementing the SDGs will require coordinated and collective efforts by all stakeholders to move the world for­ward towards a shared vision as set out in the SDG goals and targets. Business diplomats representing the interests of enterprises are crucial to ensure a mutually beneficial participation of business in the implementation of the SDGs. Propositions are made in this chapter to outline the requisite competencies needed to implement business diplomacy both at the organisational and managerial levels in the context of SDGs implementation.