Conclusion: Towards a Chinese Model of Welfare Pluralism

Abstract

China has since the 1950s developed a system of occupational welfare which provides ‘cradle to grave’ benefits and services to urban statesector employees. This study sets out to explain the origins of such a system and to describe the processes of radical change which are transforming it into a more pluralistic system. Using the empirical evidence and field data collected in a large-scale state-owned enterprise in Guangzhou, it attempts to explain how and why these changes took place and to reappraise the relevance of a number of key Western concepts and theories to Chinese models of welfare.