ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the trajectory of development in China, the extent to which this development is sustainable, and the role played by firms in such development. It provides brief history of China, concentrating on the post-1978 period when significant changes were undertaken. The chapter describes the structural changes that have taken place in the Chinese economy including a shift towards an open economy with mixed ownership of the means of production. It discusses the way in which firms themselves have responded to the call for growth and, more recently, for sustainable growth as well as the Corporate Social Responsibility efforts made by Chinese firms and the drivers involved. The revolution paralysed China’s political system, negatively affected the country’s economy to a significant degree, and led to a major upheaval in Chinese society. The centre of China’s reforms has been the transformation from a centrally planned economy to a socialist mixed-market economy.
