ABSTRACT

China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) are often accused of irresponsible business practices when operating abroad, especially in regards to human rights (Brautigam 2009; Taylor 2009; Dobler 2008). Yet the language of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been gaining significant ground throughout Mainland policy circles as a mechanism to improve corporate behaviour. In2005, President Hu Jintao’s ‘Harmonious Society Policy’ went as far as directing the country’s business leaders to incorporate CSR strategies into their business models. While such developments are promising, this chapter argues that China’s embracement of CSR should be considered a strategic and sophisticated mechanism to promote trade. Regardless, the government’s attempt to force SOEs to adopt CSR policies has important implications for China’s foreign relations by encouraging corporate elites to consider human rights abroad. In this sense, China’s CSR commitment can be seen as a soft power strategy that brings a new framework for diplomatic engagement. This chapter is divided into five sections. First, it defines and introduces a framework known as CSR engineering to understand how the social responsibility concept has emerged in China. Second, it reviews China’s linkages within the global trading system and implications for economic growth. Third, this chapter explores the nexus between SOEs and human rights violations. Fourth, it offers evidence to highlight China’s applied use of CSR language within global institutions and policy forums. Finally, it offers insight into why China has chosen to engage the CSR paradigm as a soft power mechanism to multilateral economic diplomacy.