ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of enterprises that have, at some point, been part of China’s welfare system, and still have considerable social impact, but are not regarded as social enterprises. These include state-owned enterprises (SOEs), rural cooperative economic organisations, and religious communities. Seen from the point of view of the state, their importance is defined by their role for realising a socialist economy with Chinese characteristics. The productivist approach is clearly recognisable in all instances. The quest for economic development goes hand in hand with dealing with social problems, both in the narrow sense of social work and the broad sense of maintaining “stability and harmony” as the Chinese expression goes. The enterprises take care of their business and their various stakeholders. The social contract is as influenced by this as by pre-conceived government policies.
