On June 15, 2018 Reuters reported that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had published revised corporate governance rules on its website, inviting public comment.
According to the article, the revised CSRC rules require listed companies to “beef up the work of Party-building and shoulder more social responsibilities, such as contributing to a better ecological system and helping the poor.”
Also, the “regulator said it had also set up a basic framework for listed companies to disclose environmental, social and governance (ESG) information.”
As of June 1, 2018 MSCI includes mainland Chinese stocks in its emerging markets benchmark. MSCI and numerous other ESG/governance research firms have noted that Chinese listed companies lag their emerging markets peers on ESG indicators.
China presents a conundrum for ESG investors, given that directors of Chinese firms are responsible to the Communist party, shareholders and other stakeholders.
You can read the article on the Reuters internet site.