One Dream, Two Worlds : Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the People's Republic of China

This article investigates how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is operated inChinawith a particular focus on the role of the government. It finds that CSR in China is implemented through two big networks: one for foreign invested enterprises, mostly consisting of voluntary initiatives targeting Chinese domestic consumers, and the other of domestic stateowned enterprises (SOEs), implementing non-voluntary, governmentdriven initiatives mostly targeting foreign markets. The role of the government is especially critical in the latter network. The government has developed a national strategy to encourage SOEs to promote CSR by issuing guidelines, providing various kinds of support for research and conventions, and developing China's own reporting standards in certain industries. Government intervention has resulted in the creation of two separate worlds of CSR and a Chinese version of government-led CSR in which the role of civil actors such as nongovernmental organizations is seriously limited.