By acceding to the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has become one of the main economic actors operating in the global market. China plays a dual role in the international arena: it receives foreign investment and, simultaneously, through its State-owned enterprises (SOEs), it behaves as an international investor. This paper aims at examining to what extent China and Chinese corporations are bound by international obligations in the fields of human and social rights and environmental protection. While placing a strong emphasis on the notion of “harmonious society”, it focuses on three sets of issues: first, it examines the international responsibility legal framework; second, it focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR); and third it analyses the framework of the main international obligations binding on China, with regard to human rights, environmental, and social rights protection.
