Book description
In marked contrast to other regimes that have, virtually
overnight, abandoned state control of enterprises and espoused Western
models of corporate governance, China has pursued a gradual transition
suited to its own unique traditions, culture, and customs. Although this new
corporate system is still evolving, it is clear that China is now ready for
a nation-wide movement of corporatisation and reform. Comparative
Corporate Governance draws on the entire corpus of corporate governance
theory, both East and West, and also on the experience of many countries
since the 1930s, to develop a coherent model appropriate for China. In the
process the author shows how various corporate mechanisms have been
tentatively introduced into China's state-owned enterprises and how such
experimentation has, piece by piece, provided a firm basis for a modern
enterprise system. How to build an efficient and culturally appropriate
governance system, both in law and in practice, on this foundation is the
focus of this book. The analysis is notable for its insistence that, for a
corporate governance system to work, the principles and practicalities of
that system must be derived from customary cultural norms. Experience shows
that imported models, although they may be enshrined in law, lead to
economic stagnation unless actual practice is monitored and reformed and the
laws change to reflect these necessary adjustments. Thus the model proposed
here begins with the Company Law of 1994, and proceeds to show how practical
experience is already providing valuable data for the task of improving the
law. This process, by which law and business practice continue to "regulate"
each other, is, in the author's view, the essential ingredient of a
successful corporate system. The author's approach is fundamentally
comparative. She discusses and analyses models that have either created
globally powerful corporate economies or carried out reforms that have
brought new insights to corporate development. In this connection he
examines the law and experience of the UK, the USA, Germany, and Japan, as
well as Chinese communities overseas and some former British Commonwealth
countries. This remarkable book is of inestimable value to practitioners and
academics in the field of international economic law. In addition, its often
startling perspectives on the accepted models of corporate governance are
sure to spark a reassessment of the nature of corporations and their role in
social and economic life.
About the author
Dr. Yuwa Wei, LLB (China University of Political Science and
Law, Beijing), LLM (Bond), PhD (Bond), is a lecturer in law at Victoria
University of Technology, Australia. She is also a Fellow of Tim
Fischer Centre for Global Trade & Finance, Bond University and a
visiting Professor at Harbin University of Science and Technology,
China. Before moving to Australia, she worked as a civil servant
and practised as a lawyer in the People's Republic of China. Her
publications include Investing in China: the law and practice of
joint ventures (Federation Press, Australia, 2000) and Practical
Knowledge of Civil Law (Heilongjiang Publishing House, China, 1988).
Jeff Waincymer, a Advisory Board member, is the Professor of
International Trade Law, Faculty of Law, Monash University, Melbourne.
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