Abstract

This paper addresses the practice of business ethics in China. It begins with a literature review. Using a traditional cultural framework it then analyses the role of the state in China. A comparison is made between the evolution of Chinese social and political forms and those of the West, and the consequences of those differences for the question of auto‐organisation in China are described. After commenting on the reality of business ethics in China, the paper concludes that the practice of business ethics in China needs the guiding ‘parental’ hand of government.