This paper studies how the evolution of market forces affects executive compensation in China's listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from 2000-2007. Along with the progress of market reforms we find that the level of executive compensation increases gradually and the relation between compensation and performance becomes more sensitive. However, the effect of market forces on executive compensation in SOEs is limited by CEOs' political connections. Our findings suggest that introducing exogenous market forces alone may not be sufficient to ensure the effectiveness of governance structure in a transition economy.