Report Launch with Daniel H. Rosen
Missing Link: Corporate Governance in China's State Sector
On November 5, Asia Society Northern California hosted its latest report launch with Rhodium Group. Daniel H. Rosen, lead report author and founding partner at Rhodium, presented the report "Missing Link: Corporate Governance in China's State Sector." The report, now available for download here, focuses on the economic potential and risks regarding China's rapidly growing network of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and highlights the necessity of corporate governance reform in order to optimize profitability and operational stability.
The sold-out event started with brief introductory remarks from Executive Director Margaret Conley and Honorary Chairman Jack Wadsworth, who then opened the floor to Rosen's presentation of the report's key findings. Victor Shih joined Rosen afterwards to interview him, asking detailed and nuanced questions which led thought-provoking conversations between Rosen and Shih not covered in the presentation itself. After the dialogue, Marsha Vande Berg, Edith Yeung and Mark Cohen joined moderator Hongbin Li for a panel discussion and shed insight on the different aspects of corporate governance in China. These areas of dialogue included private Chinese firms, intellectual property, trade laws, and the labor market. Concluding the program was Chairman Kenneth P. Wilcox who summarized some of the report findings as well as the day’s discussion.
Watch Dan Rosen's presentation of the report plus his conversation with Professor Victor Shih. (1 hr.)
Watch the panel discussion about the report and Chinese SOEs. (1 hr., 16 min).
Press coverage includes the Financial Times and The Telegraph.
China’s Xi Jinping revives Maoist call for ‘self-reliance’
President warns of new difficulties ‘obtaining’ foreign technology
Financial Times, November 11, 2018
“By reviving the Maoist concept of self-reliance, Xi’s comments signal that state-owned enterprises will play an even greater role in the economy by leading efforts to achieve supremacy in key technologies,” said Wendy Leutert, a postdoctoral fellow in Chinese politics at Columbia and Harvard universities who co-authored a recent Asia Society report on state-owned enterprises.
China’s government talks about reform – while it tightens its grip
The Telegraph, November 12, 2018
"China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) dominate its economy. A recent report by the Asia Society details to what degree: they account for 56pc of domestically-listed firms’ total revenues and 40pc of their total market capitalisation."
Will history remember the coming Trump-Xi dinner party?
Whether it's hamburgers or humble pie, there is a strong chance the host will make a meal of it
Asia Times, November 17, 2018
“Actually, a recent report by the Rhodium Group for the Asia Society revealed that SOEs make up only 5% of all the companies in China, but account for 28% of the industrial assets and generate only 18% of the total profits. Their return on assets is a woeful 2.9% vs 9.9% for private enterprises. At a minimum, Trump’s fear of China’s SOEs has been misplaced.”
‘Bring Me Tariffs’—How Trump and Xi Drove Their Countries to the Brink of a Trade War
In the corridors of power, officials from the U.S. and China maneuvered and often miscalculated
Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2018
Bob Davis cited a chart/data from the report.