While benefiting from the wealth generated by economic reform, China has also faced increasing social and environmental problems. With the restructuring of state enterprises, the previous occupational-based welfare system has been abolished. To decentralize the state's role in social protection while tackling social problems, the Chinese government has tried to experiment with different social measures to diversify welfare financing and provisions. Included in the social experiments are non-governmental organizations and charities. This paper provides a critical analysis of the social context of China since its economic reform, which, we argue, paves the way for the current development of NGOs and charities. This overview of current development of NGOs and charities in China also highlights existing structural problems.

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