Reform of state-owned enterprises has stalled and will require a different strategy, as private investors broadly refuse to participate in efforts promoted by Beijing to accept minority stakes in SOEs.
The Third Plenum of the Communist Party Conference in March, 2012 set out the Party’s vision under newly installed chairman, Xi Jinping. It upheld the idea of SOEs to provide public goods and promote a national agenda in strategic industries, such as natural resources, military security and technology, but it also called for partial private ownership to provide modern governance and management.
Importantly, the Third Plenum decree even said the private sector could...