State-owned enterprise reform in China: Past, present and prospects

Abstract

Reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been a core element of China’s economic reform process over the past 40 years. SOEs formed the backbone of China’s economy during the central planning era; their transformation is the most prominent among changes in China’s enterprise system that have been taking place in tandem with other institutional and policy reforms in the course of the transition to a market-based economy. Market-oriented development has progressed with a reduction in the scope of the SOE sector in the economy. Unlike what has happened in the former socialist countries in Europe, in China, SOE reform did