A Legal Theory of State-Owned Enterprises : The China Experience

The privatization of state-owned enterprises is fundamentally a process of legalization rather than liberalization. It requires defining the boundaries between public power and private property, which incurs considerable social costs. The persistence of SOEs in certain sectors in China reflects the challenges inherent in making these distinctions.

The privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is more accurately described as a process of legalization rather than liberalization, given that the state often continues to regulate private enterprises even after privatization. This process requires clearly defining the boundaries between public power and private property, which entails significant social costs. The continued prevalence of SOEs in China is largely due to the difficulty of defining these boundaries, especially in sectors where safeguarding private property clashes with state priorities. Such sectors include water utilities, coal mining, commercial banking, and infrastructure, where competing state goals complicate the full privatization of the market. Therefore, it is essential to be cautious against the legal centrist view' that assumes law is inherently superior to state ownership. Privatizing SOEs is not merely the transfer of equity-it demands the establishment of advanced legal and regulatory frameworks, making it a complex and gradual endeavor.