This study compares the ownership forms, historical backgrounds, and characteristics of Chinese enterprises, and examines the differences in business operations across each ownership type in relation to management practices. Chinese enterprises can be classified by ownership type into state-owned enterprises, collectively owned enterprises, private enterprises, and foreign-invested enterprises. First, regarding reforms in state-owned enterprises, reforms before 1992 represented a phase of expanding managerial autonomy, whereas reforms after 1992 can be characterized as a phase of partial privatization of ownership and establishment of a modern enterprise system, carried out amid the systemic transition from a planned economy to a market economy. However, problems that emerged during the reform process include: (1) government interference in the management of state-owned enterprises, (2) excessive employment resulting from local governments' policies to increase employment, (3) the relative weakness of managerial authority, and (4) the continued concentration of ownership with the state even with the introduction of the shareholding system. Second, regarding reforms in collectively owned enterprises, these enterprises were established through cooperation among urban and rural workers and have undergone several cycles of development and stagnation. Since the reform and opening-up, the Chinese government has vigorously promoted the development of the collectively owned economy. The major reasons for the significant growth of urban and rural collectively owned enterprises lie in the severity of urban employment problems and their selection as a solution to the surplus labor problem in rural areas following reform. Third, regarding reforms in private enterprises, private enterprises are playing an increasingly important role in China's economic development. However, in practice, private enterprises face greater difficulty obtaining loans compared to state-owned enterprises and lack sufficient legal protections. Local governments seek profits through administrative measures such as issuing permits to private enterprises, and bribery among law enforcement officials is common. Fourth, foreign-invested enterprises have developed through the open-door policy initiated in 1978. The methods of utilizing foreign capital in China are divided into three categories: foreign borrowing, direct investment by foreign enterprises, and other investment forms (subcontract processing, international leasing). Among these, direct investment by foreign enterprises (or individuals) encompasses three modes—joint ventures, cooperative ventures, and wholly foreign-owned ventures—collectively known as "Three-Capital Enterprises" (sanzi enterprises). During 1979–1990, China primarily relied on foreign borrowing as the principal method of utilizing foreign capital. However, since the 1990s, attracting foreign investment enterprises has become the predominant method. Examining the scale and status of foreign direct investment in China by major countries, investments by overseas Chinese capital from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Singapore, as well as by Japanese and American firms, account for the majority.