The Evolving Role of State-Owned Enterprises in China’s Economic Stabilization

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China have been pivotal in economic stabilization, transitioning from primary executors of economic plans to facilitators of temporary economic mobilization, counter-cyclical investments, and strategic investments aligned with national interests. This stabilization role, shaped by major social relations (the state–SOEs relation, the SOE management–worker relation, and the SOEs–private enterprises relation) in different stages, is distinct from capitalist government interventions. SOEs are an institution that, under certain conditions, the state can leverage to stabilize the economy while simultaneously promoting progressive social and economic goals. This institution offers favorable, albeit insufficient, conditions for China to transition toward a more socialist economy.