Legal Challenges in Regulating Transnational Corporations Social Responsibility: Protecting Workers and the Environment under Chinese Law

In the context of global economic integration, multinational corporations have become a significant force in driving global economic growth. However, the issue of their social responsibility in host countries is becoming increasingly prominent. This article focuses on two key issues: protecting the interests of multinational company employees and addressing environmental responsibilities. In practice, some multinational companies have engaged in labor rights violations, such as underpaying wages, excessive overtime, and neglecting occupational health and safety, as well as environmental pollution and ecological destruction. Although China's Company Law clearly requires enterprises to assume social responsibilities, there are still legal loopholes in practice, including double standards on environmental issues, lack of transparency, inadequate labor protection, and the gig economy's evasion of responsibilities. To address these issues, this article proposes a multi-level legal regulatory system: implementing mandatory environmental liability insurance, refining environmental information disclosure, adding a special chapter on cross-border employee rights protection, standardizing labor relations in the gig economy, and strengthening cross-border law enforcement cooperation and social supervision mechanisms. The aim is to achieve a balance between the economic benefits and social responsibilities of multinational companies, thereby ensuring the sustainable development of host countries.