Private Enterprise And The China Trade

"This book examines the European commercial landscape of the early China trade, c.1700-1750. It looks at the foundational period of Sino-European commerce and explores a world of private enterprise beneath the surface of the official East India Company structures. Using rich private trade records, it analyses the making of pan-European markets, distribution networks and patterns of investment that together reveal a new geography of a trading system previously studied mostly at Canton. By considering the interloping activities of British-born merchants working for the smaller East India Companies, the book uncovers the commercial practices and cross-Company collaborations, both legal and illicit, that sustained the growth of the China trade: smuggling, wholesale trading, private commissions and the manipulation of Company auctions"--

The re-emergence of private enterprises is one of the most important factors in China's recent economic development. They will play a key role in maintaining China's high growth rate and honouring its commitments to the WTO. Despite this they face obstacles to growth, including borrowing restrictions, high taxes, ineffective legal protection and lack of technical and information support. The authors in this book discuss these obstacles and propose measures for improving private enterprise development. They consider how private enterprises can help China mitigate its macroeconomic problems, such as unemployment, income inequality, financial disintermediation and cyclical boom and bust. Finally they examine the lessons to be learnt from other countries in promoting privatization.

The open access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation. This book examines the European commercial landscape of the early China trade, c.1700–1750. It looks at the foundational period of Sino-European commerce and explores a world of private enterprise beneath the surface of the official East India Company structures. Using rich private trade records, it analyses the making of pan-European markets, distribution networks and patterns of investment that together reveal a new geography of a trading system previously studied mostly at Canton. By considering the interloping activities of British-born merchants working for the smaller East India Companies, the book uncovers the commercial practices and cross-Company collaborations, both legal and illicit, that sustained the growth of the China trade: smuggling, wholesale trading, private commissions and the manipulation of Company auctions.

China's transition to a market economy has propelled its remarkable economic growth since the late 1970s. In this book, Nicholas R. Lardy, one of the world's foremost experts on the Chinese economy, traces the increasing role of market forces and refutes the widely advanced argument that Chinese economic progress rests on the government's control of the economy's "commanding heights." In another challenge to conventional wisdom, Lardy finds little evidence that the decade of the leadership of former President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao (2003–13) dramatically increased the role and importance of state-owned firms, as many people argue. This book offers powerfully persuasive evidence that the major sources of China's growth in the future will be similarly market rather than state-driven, with private firms providing the major source of economic growth, the sole source of job creation, and the major contributor to China's still growing role as a global trader. Lardy does, however, call on China to deregulate and increase competition in those portions of the economy where state firms remain protected, especially in energy and finance.

Analysis of the Chinese economy, which is currently undergoing a profound institutional transformation. State-owned enterprises are currently being restructured based on market conditions in which private firms are now being permitted to play a more important role. Analyses the nature and dynamics of private sector reform within the Chinese economy and also gives recommendations for policies supporting opportunities for growth and investment. Includes references and index.

This report aims to take stock of the domestic private sector in China which has emerged over the past twenty years. It is based on surveys and interviews carried out in four locations in China where private sector development is relatively advanced. These studies were supplemented by discussions with entrepreneurs, industry associations, and government officials. The report focuses on three main themes: the structure of private enterprises, the enabling environment for their development and, access to financing. For each of these areas, the report presents an analysis of constraints on private sector development and outlines an agenda for addressing these constraints. The report recommends that, in order to encourage continuing private sector growth, the government should create a level playing field for all enterprises by intervening less and focusing on improved commercial legislation and more open markets. Financial institutions must develop to serve the private sector, and private enterprises need to mature and improve their corporate governance, in order to derive the most benefit from improvements in the business environment.

Based on Party and state documents, Chinese newspaper reports and surveys, the Chinese and Western scholarly literature and the author's own fieldwork, this important study examines the private sector as a case study of the mechanics of reform in China, emphasizing the relationships among local officials, private businesses, and central policy. The book traces the growth of private business in China since 1978 and focuses on the interaction between private sector policy and other reforms and examines how this has affected China's political economy.