Varieties Of Governance In China

"This book argues that any institution that can efficiently solve the problems of collective action and accountability is able to uphold quality governance in local communities, regardless of their nature and origins. The respective performance of different types of institutions, however, is contingent upon the characteristics of the social environment in which they are embedded. Such social environment characteristics are, in turn, closely shaped by the structural features of the local communities. This book further argues that, among a variety of factors that might have contributed to the structural transformation of rural communities, the most salient is a major phenomenon witnessed in many developing countries: rural-urban migration. More specifically, in local communities with distinct levels of outward migration, community members' contextualized choices between indigenous relation-based and imposed rule-based institutions for local governance issues are likely to unfold in different ways. This generates distinct dynamics of institutional change in these communities with varying communal structures. This is the first book that uses a coherent framework to simultaneously examine various aspects of rural China's governance (including public goods provision, conflict resolution, disaster and crisis relief, and raising modest credit and small loans) and covers both formal and informal institutions"--

This book provides an all-round analysis and exploration of the course, status quo and future of the Chinese Government's governance reform under the framework of government governance modernization. The authors bring their decades of experience in crafting policy in China to explain the relationship between China's government and market, between government and society, between the central government and local governments, functional transformation, organizational structure optimization, reform of public institutions, allocation of fiscally supported personnel, the building of a law-based government and other major issues, while also laying out a case for structural changes in the years to come.

The People's Republic of China has experienced numerous challenges and undergone tremendous structural changes over the past four decades. The party-state faces a fundamental tension in its pursuit of social stability and regime durability. Repressive state strategies enable the Chinese Communist Party to maintain its monopoly on political power, which is consistent with the regime's authoritarian essence. Yet the quality of governance and regime legitimacy are enhanced when the state adopts more inclusive modes of engagement with society. How can the assertion of political power be reconciled with responsiveness to societal demands? This dilemma lies at the core of evolutionary governance under authoritarianism in China. Based on a dynamic typology of state-society relations, this volume adopts an evolutionary framework to examine how the Chinese state relates with non-state actors across several fields of governance: community, environment and public health, economy and labor, and society and religion. Drawing on original fieldwork, the authors identify areas in which state-society interactions have shifted over time, ranging from more constructive engagement to protracted conflict. This evolutionary approach provides nuanced insight into the circumstances wherein the party-state exerts its coercive power versus engaging in more flexible responses or policy adaptations.

This book reveals the complex relationship between elite perceptions and behaviour, and governance, in China. It moves away from existing scholarship by focusing on functionaries, grass-roots elites, leading intellectuals, and opinion-makers in China and by looking beyond the top leadership, makes a significant contribution to our understanding of shared governance and broadened political participation in China. The chapters in this collection explore the elites’ role as opinion-makers, technical experts, producers of knowledge, and executives or managers, and pose a number of questions, the answers to which are crucial to understanding future political and economic development in China. What are elite perceptions of governance, inequality and justice; what do the elites mean by good governance; what is the influence of non-Chinese Communist Party elites in policy-making and implementation in China; how have they exerted their influence in the PRC and influenced its direction of future development; and what have grass-roots elites contributed to governance in local communities? Providing a keen insight into the role elites have played in governing China since 1978, this book is a pioneering effort to bring together elite studies and governance studies. As such, it will be highly relevant for policy-makers within international organizations, governments, and NGOs outside China as well as appealing to scholars and students interested in Chinese politics and governance.

China has traveled a unique road to reach its present economic significance in the world with corporate governance central to political and economic policy. In Understanding Corporate Governance in China, Bob Tricker and Gregg Li look at a variety of companies in China and the challenges they face. Based on in-depth interviews with business leaders, entrepreneurs, auditors, bankers, lawyers, and others closely involved in corporate governance in China, they argue that corporate governance involves more than company law, governance guidelines, and the rules of the stock exchanges and regulatory authorities. Culture and ethics lie at the core of corporate governance. In Chinese business these are still evolving, and business-government relations continue to change. It is vital to understand how business people and officials act in practice in China. They also explain how the regulatory framework of corporate governance in Hong Kong increases the sophistication. As more and more companies based in mainland China are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and increasingly dominate the Hong Kong market, the business worlds of China and Hong Kong become intertwined and grow together. After a brief introduction to the basic theories of corporate governance and the evolution of corporate governance in China, the book guides the reader through current issues and practices in both mainland China and Hong Kong. Topics like Chinese culture and ethics, the regulatory corporate governance framework in mainland China and Hong Kong, the function and practice of the board of directors in China, and the governance of Chinese companies abroad are covered.

Including key research articles from specialists in the field, this volume provides an introduction and critical insights into the most important debates surrounding the governance of contemporary China. The material will enable readers to understand how China is ruled, how participation and protest are regulated by the authorities, and the relationship between the Central state and its local agencies. Spanning the most important areas of the subject, the chosen articles explore the study of Chinese politics, the nature of the Chinese political system, the policy-making process, the nature of the local state, participation and protest, and authoritarian resilience or democratization. Professor Saich's collection brings together essential reading for students of China, those who are interested in comparative politics and the general reader who wants a coherent introduction about how China is ruled.

Despite a centralized formal structure, Chinese politics and policy-making have long been marked by substantial degrees of regional and local variation and experimentation. These trends have, if anything, intensified as China’s reform matures. Though often remarked upon, the politicsof policy formation, diffusion, and implementation at the subnational level have not previously been comprehensively described, let alone satisfactorily explained. Based on extensive fieldwork, this book explores how policies diffuse across China today, the mechanisms through which local governments actually arrive at specific solutions, and the implications for China’s political development and stability in the years ahead. The chapters examine how local-level institutions solve governance challenges, such as rural development, enterprise reform, and social service provision. Focusing on diverse policy areas that include land use, state-owned enterprise reform, and house churches, the contributors all address the same overarching question: how do local policymakers innovate in each issue area to address a governance challenges and how, if at all, do these innovations diffuse into national politics. As a study of local governance in China today, this book will appeal to both students and scholars of Chinese politics, comparative politics, governance and development studies, and also to policy-makers interested in authoritarianism and governance.

Demonstrating the crucial importance of local governance in China's development and international relations, this topical Handbook combines theoretical approaches with novel methodological tools to understand state-society relations at the local level. The Handbook assesses the formal mechanisms that organize territorial relations and scales of state to reconceptualize the local in China's sociopolitical history. Addressing the complexity of local governance, it examines both the state and societal actors that are involved in how local policies are designed and implemented. Chapters review the emerging literature on Chinese bureaucracy, central-local relations, administrative hierarchies, functional division of power in local governments, and policy innovation. Looking towards the future of the neoliberal capitalist world order, the Handbook also considers economic governance at the local level in the evolving contexts of digitalization and green transformation, before tackling issues related to social governance including housing policies and public services. Interdisciplinary in scope, this comprehensive Handbook will be essential to students and scholars of Asian politics, policy, urban studies, and regulation and governance. It will also benefit policymakers across Asia working in governmental regulation and public administration and management.