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The first report on the social responsibility of family businesses in China was released on Wednesday in Beijing.
With comprehensive analysis of the history and current situation of China's family businesses, the report is meant to further promote family corporate awareness and enhance the robust development of the private sector.
"It's obvious the country is attaching more significance to family firms, and the report also confirms the contributions made by family businesses," said Sammy W.S. Lee, chairman of Hong Kong-based Lee Kum Kee, a food company set up by Lee's great-grandfather to manufacture oyster-flavored sauce in 1888.
"It's necessary to attach weight to the healthy development of family businesses during policy making, considering its unique and irreplaceable role," Lee said.
The report was conducted by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the National Center for Private Economy Studies and universities from across the country.
According to the report, after some 30 years of development, family businesses in the country have accounted for a massive percentage of private economic production, with great contribution to GDP and job creation. Many of them are setting good examples for taking on social responsibility.
Many family businesses on the Chinese mainland, mostly small and medium-sized corporations located in the eastern coastal provinces, despite their impressive contribution to economic development, are still in the early stage of growth.
However, a small batch of family-owned firms are unaware of their duties and have tarnished the image of family firms.
According to Chen Ling, a professor at the department of family business and business history at Zhejiang University, the next five to 10 years will witness a boom in the transfer of family wealth, considering the founders, most in their 50s, will retire in their 60s.
