
Disaggregating China, Inc.
State Strategies in the Liberal Economic Order
Yeling Tan(Author)
Cornell University Press
Published on 15. October 2021
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-5017-5963-5 (ISBN)
Description
Set in the aftermath of China's entry into the World Trade Organization, Disaggregating China, Inc. questions the extent to which the liberal internationalist promise of membership has been fulfilled in China. Yeling Tan unpacks the policies that various Chinese government actors adopted in response to WTO rules and shows that rather than disciplining the state, WTO entry provoked a divergence of policy responses across different parts of the complex party-state.
Tan argues that these responses draw from three competing strategies of economic governance: market-substituting (directive), market-shaping (developmental), and market-enhancing (regulatory). She uses innovative web-scraping techniques to assemble an original dataset of over 43,000 Chinese industry regulations, identifying policies associated with each strategy. Combining textual analysis with industry data, in-depth case studies, and field interviews with industry representatives and government officials, Tan demonstrates that different Chinese state actors adopted different logics of adjustment to respond to the common shock of WTO accession. This policy divergence originated from a combination of international and domestic forces.
Disaggregating China, Inc. breaks open the black box of the Chinese state, explaining why WTO rules, usually thought to commit states to international norms, instead provoked responses that the architects of those rules neither expected nor wanted.
Tan argues that these responses draw from three competing strategies of economic governance: market-substituting (directive), market-shaping (developmental), and market-enhancing (regulatory). She uses innovative web-scraping techniques to assemble an original dataset of over 43,000 Chinese industry regulations, identifying policies associated with each strategy. Combining textual analysis with industry data, in-depth case studies, and field interviews with industry representatives and government officials, Tan demonstrates that different Chinese state actors adopted different logics of adjustment to respond to the common shock of WTO accession. This policy divergence originated from a combination of international and domestic forces.
Disaggregating China, Inc. breaks open the black box of the Chinese state, explaining why WTO rules, usually thought to commit states to international norms, instead provoked responses that the architects of those rules neither expected nor wanted.
Reviews / Votes
Tan presents a fascinating analysis of how China's adoption of the liberal rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has interacted with the unique features of the country's domestic political economy to shape its development trajectory since WTO accession. [T]he book represents a valuable contribution to the study of Chinese politics, political economy and foreign economic policy.(China Quarterly)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Ithaca
United States
Product notice
Paper over boards
Illustrations
3 b&w halftones, 3 b&w line drawings, 20 charts - 3 Halftones, black and white - 20 Charts - 3 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
907 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5017-5963-5 (9781501759635)
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Other editions
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E-Book
10/2021
Cornell University Press
€39.99
Available for download
Person
Yeling Tan is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Oregon. She has published in Comparative Political Studies, Governance, China Journal, Global Policy, Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs.
Content
Introduction: Integrating China into the Liberal InternationalOrder
1. China's WTO Challenge
2. A Theory of State Strategies under Global Rules
3. The Hierarchical Politics of WTO Entry
4. Explaining the Rise of State Capitalism
5. FDI and the Quest for National Champions
Conclusion: Reassessing China in the WTO Era
1. China's WTO Challenge
2. A Theory of State Strategies under Global Rules
3. The Hierarchical Politics of WTO Entry
4. Explaining the Rise of State Capitalism
5. FDI and the Quest for National Champions
Conclusion: Reassessing China in the WTO Era