China’s Experience in Reforming Its State-Owned Enterprises: Something New, Something Old and Something Chinese?

It has been over thirty years since China has instigated reforms to their state-owned enterprises (SOEs). China’s brand of reforms is a blend of selective adaptation of good corporate governance ideals. Recent introduction of new laws and governmental oversights have helped the government to retain near absolute control. The only palatable explanation is that this is a state crafted modern socialistic market with ‘Chinese characteristics’ - that is, the modernisation of the Chinese SOEs through the selective use of international governance standards as a guide and the establishment of a new form of state led paternalistic governance.