Ethical problems of the privatization of water supply services. Article submitted for the ethics course, with good research on the Chinese market. The privatization of public systems has continued in both developed and developing countries for many years, perhaps most forcefully in developing countries over the past decade due to their increased dependence on state-owned enterprises . The inefficiency of many state-owned enterprises and the burden this represents on the countries that support them is probably the most common reason given to justify them. Other reasons were also: expertise of private companies, less capital required to start the project (in case of new projects) and less resources required from the government to control the daily operations of the company. Water supply systems have also been a target for privatization in many countries, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (see Figure 1). See in Figure 1, the regions where water supply privatization is most concentrated are Asia-Pacific and Latin America. However, why is the privatization of water supply controversial? Many countries establish in their constitution that water is a right for their citizens and, according to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, access to water is a human right (November 26, 2002, “ The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses). However, how can we ensure that this right is enforced when private companies are responsible for providing this service? Let's see middle of paper... The municipal concession should be between 8 and 12 percent, but the 2002 notice on accelerating the commercialization of urban utilities indicates that Chinese authorities cannot provide guarantees to investors. for privatizations. ) So the fact is that the central government is in favor of price increases, but the provincial government, which has to deal with unpopular price increases, tends to protect customers. On the other hand, investors with bargaining power (mainly foreign investors) can manage to get better deals in some cases, such as compensation provisions in the event of regulatory changes, a lower starting price. high or a more advantageous rate adjustment formula. Clearly, the challenge for the Chinese authorities is to be able to develop a solid regulatory regime. for privatization of water services adapted to Chinese specificities.