ABSTRACT
Many countries have benefited greatly from an influx of investment from China; much of this investment has come from Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Functioning as China’s national champions, Chinese SOEs have been the vehicles for the Chinese government to obtain resources from the international market, to participate in international market competition, and to expand Chinese national soft power. They also allow Chinese SOEs to gain controlling interests in foreign companies; this opens doors for other Chinese enterprises to sell goods and services abroad; this is a pattern that is well established from prior eras of foreign investment in countries such as Australia. However, these SOEs are also facing challenges overseas, especially the SOEs investing in the natural resources sector abroad. In order to meet the challenges of modern corporate governance, Chinese SOEs have sought to enhance their corporate governance practices whilst the Chinese government has also sought to reform its inefficient SOEs. In response to the challenges facing modern globally active companies, China has adopted corporate social responsibility (CSR) ideas to better regulate its enterprises. This has often been supported by legislative mechanisms. With increasing outward-bound investment by Chinese SOEs, many SOEs have also developed their own CSR codes. This chapter explores some CSR norms developed by Chinese government agencies and China’s SOEs, and examines how Chinese SOEs have implemented CSR norms to protect non-economic interests in natural resources rich countries, such as Australia.
