For the past three decades, China has been one of the world’s most admired economic success stories. It has long ceased to be a belligerent force in international geopolitics and has become a fully accepted and well-regarded member of the international family of nations. Yet, there is not a week that goes by when I am not confronted with outright scepticism, if not fear and hostility, over how much China can be trusted – for example, to live up to WTO obligations; to respect intellectual property; and to be a good partner. No matter what aspect of trust we are talking about, the western executives that I work with are not “buying” the story of China maturing into a well-governed economy.
All of this is about governance – and not just “corporate” governance. All over China there are issues that are reaching fever pitch: mass action in the Chinese countryside over corruption and poverty; the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party singling out corruption last month; the unveiling of new anti-corruption measures by the China Banking Regulatory Commission in March; and the suggestion in April by the UN’s International Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that China is violating workers’ rights to organise.
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