At the 27th China Daily CEO Roundtable luncheon "Corporate social responsibility and innovation," held at the InterContinental Financial Street Beijing Hotel on Wednesday, over 40 CEOs and senior executives from Fortune 500 companies explored its most effective applications for businesses and its implications for China.

Creating a harmonious society was recognized by delegates as a driving force behind the growth of CSR. First put forward during the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in September 2004, it was not until last month during the sixth plenary session that the authorities put "creating a harmonious society" in a more prominent position by providing specific principles, rules and regulations of what a harmonious society should be.

"Just two years ago, no one was talking about CSR, but now government and business leaders are seriously looking at it," said William Valentino, general manager of Corporate Communications, Greater China,Bayer (China) Ltd and honorary chairman of the CEO Roundtable. "The concept of a harmonious society is really China's rephrasing of the concept of CSR, sustainable development and human rights in China."

As outlined in the draft of the Resolutions of the CPC Central Committee on Major Issues Regarding the Building of a Harmonious Socialist Society, there are still many problems in China that are detrimental to social harmony. These problems were acknowledged by the roundtable delegates, including the widening gap between urban and rural areas, public healthcare, employment and education systems, environmental pollution, immature laws and regulations, and corruption. "Look at China. Its social and environmental burdens outweigh its rapid economic growth in the last 25 years," said Valentino. "The burden is so great that economic development will stop somewhere if we do not try to do something about it," he added.

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