Why do Chinese state-owned enterprises routinely respond to central-level goals and policies in different ways, and why do their reform trajectories often vary significantly across firms and over time? This book introduces a leadership approach to studying the politics, process, and outcomes of economic reform in China's public sector. Using a series of in-depth case studies, Wendy Leutert analyses the exercise and effects of leadership in Chinese state-owned enterprises. She uncovers the 'intra-organizational politics of reform': the daily dynamics of cooperation and conflict between leaders and their subordinates inside public-sector organizations. She also identifies common tactics that Chinese state-owned enterprise leaders use to execute their agendas and ways their subordinates respond. Updating and expanding existing knowledge, this book highlights the growing global consequences of leadership in Chinese state-owned enterprises and why leadership remains vital for understanding China today.

Winner, 2025 Choice Awards

‘This title is an engaging read on the Chinese economy and governance. It is highly recommended, accessible to most audiences, and suitable as an undergraduate textbook.’

D. Li Source: CHOICE

‘Leutert has written a well-documented book on China’s state-owned enterprises and their internal leadership dynamics. She has once again showed her deep insight in a key sector of the Chinese economy. The book is a must for anyone interested in Chinese politics and economy.’

Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard Source: The China Quarterly

‘… the book makes significant contributions to our understanding of how [state-owned enterprise] leaders shape policy implementation and the process of economic reform. … Leutert identifies an important gap in our scholarship in that, despite understanding that individual leaders matter in this system, political economists do not have rigorous ways of advancing causal arguments linking these leaders to specific outcomes. … Through her cases, Leutert traces how key corporate decision-makers changed the outcomes of policies in SOEs.’

Jessica C. Teets Source: The China Journal

'China's State-Owned Enterprises offers an empirically grounded contribution to our understanding of leadership in China's public sector. Drawing on rare field access and a careful comparative design, Leutert uncovers organizational dynamics and reform processes that are typically difficult to observe. Her findings show how leadership continues to matter even within China's dense institutional and political constraints. The book provides clear conceptual frameworks and rich empirical material that will be useful to scholars and students working on Chinese political economy, organizational behavior, and state-business relations.'

Ding Fei Source: Pacific Affairs