ABSTRACT
Since the end of the 1970s, China has adopted a wide range of marketoriented economic reforms, including “opening up” to the outside world. As part of this “opening up,” foreign direct investment (FDI) was first sanctioned and then actively encouraged by the Chinese government. Over the period since they first appeared, foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs)1 have played an especially important role in China’s rapid economic growth through technology and knowledge spillovers as well as contributions to China’s exports. They have also contributed directly to China’s market-oriented economic reforms. In China’s overall reform program, labor market reforms have perhaps been the most important and protracted part. Among the contributions that FIEs have made to China’s economic reforms what stands out is their role in promoting China’s labor market reforms.
