How Much Employee Ownership Is There in China?

First-hand reports from China reach different conclusions about just how much employee ownership there really is in that country. Township and village enterprises (TVEs) make up most of all but the very largest companies in the country (most of the largest ones are owned by the central government). According to some reports, most TVEs have been or are being sold to worker-owned cooperatives. Other observers, however, say that these sales are only beginning, and still experimental. Still, everyone agrees that this seems the most likely course for the TVEs in the next several years. Laws are now being drafted to help govern the transition. Meanwhile, the state-owned enterprises may start selling some of their shares to employees.