This paper analyses the performance of state-owned business groups in China. Group affiliation can be important for economic policy evaluation since the Chinese government promotes the formation of business groups as a first step in the process of reforming state enterprises into modern corporations. The analysis applies a range of econometric techniques to a sample of 657 Chinese state-owned firms in 2005 and shows that group affiliation has a robust positive effect on performance. Group affiliation may in this respect provide a successful alternative to large-scale privatisation.