Companies with a strong sense of social responsibility make a good impression on investors that they are reliable and trustworthy, said Ji Xiaonan, board chairman of supervisors on State-owned enterprises.

Although Chinese enterprises engage themselves actively in improving public welfare, a string of scandals especially in food safety led to an outcry about enterprises' integrity and commitments.

Also, amid an economic slowdown, enterprises tend to ignore social responsibility, said Song Hua, an economics professor at Renmin University of China.

"Companies should reveal their problems in social responsibility reports instead of whitewashing them," said Wang Kaiyu, an Anhui-based researcher.

Social responsibility reports are accounts of what enterprises have done for public welfare, not commercial publicity, Wang said.

According to Zhang, the ability to take social responsibility is yet to mature among Chinese enterprises. The country needs to set up a mechanism to regulate enterprises' social responsibility based on law, culture and moral standards, Zhang added.