Looking at Corporate Governance in China’s Large Companies: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHINESE LEGAL SYSTEM CHANGE AND CHALLENGES, Guanghua Yu, ed., Routledge, December 2010
22 Pages Posted: 12 Apr 2011
Date Written: December 1, 2010
Abstract
Much has been achieved in the development of Chinese corporate governance policies and practices over the last two decades. Researchers have explored the broad contours of this achievement, although corporate governance research in China is still at an early stage of development. Research has tended to focus upon institutional and legislative developments, such as the passage of new Company Laws and the introduction of a Corporate Governance Code; attention has also been given to the role of regulatory bodies and stock exchanges in developing corporate rules, such as those concerned with improved disclosure and greater reliability of corporate reports; other research has examined key issues such as the role of the State as dominant shareholder, the role of the Party committee within listed companies, the position of independent directors and the supervisory board and the protection of minority shareholders. However, greater effort needs to be made by governance researchers to look more closely at the actual workings of Chinese corporations, such as through the use of empirical research methods. This paper argues that much remains to be done in this area if corporate governance ideas are to become embedded within the day to day practices of major Chinese companies.
Keywords: Corporate Governance Theory, Public Companies, China, Evaluation
JEL Classification: G34, L32, P2
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation