ABSTRACT
China’s corporate law reforms since 2005 have given rise to a new model of corporate governance—namely, the state-led stakeholder model. Using the 2018 tainted milk scandal as a case study, this chapter examines the impact of this governance model on the enforcement of food safety standards in China. It argues that while the utility of this model in facilitating economic development and maintaining social stability is evident, it is likely to contribute to the lack of substantive improvement in the enforcement of food standards. Thus, examining the power and autocracy of the Chinese state, evident in its utilitarian approach to resolving competing objectives in the milk scandal, suggests some important limitations in the state-led stakeholder model of corporate governance, and flaws in the wider regulatory framework in China. Continuing to address these limitations will be most important to maintaining China’s credibility internationally as a global food supplier.
