The Rise of China, Inc.: How the Chinese Communist Party Transformed China into a Giant Corporation

Description

Leveraging its absolute power, low human rights advantage, and tolerance by other countries, the Chinese Communist Party has transformed China into a giant corporation. Living and working is not a right, but a privilege granted by the party. State-owned firms are business units or subsidiaries, private firms are joint ventures, and foreign firms are franchisees of the party. 'China, Inc.' enjoys the agility of a firm and the vast resources of a state. Meanwhile, foreign firms competing with Chinese firms can find themselves matched against the mighty Chinese state. The Rise of China, Inc. will interest many readers: it will compel business scholars to rethink state-firm relationships; assist multinational business practitioners in formulating effective strategies; aid policy-makers in countering China's expansion; and inform the public of the massive corporate organisation China has become, and how democracies can effectively deal with it.

Shaomin Li is Professor and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University. His research has appeared in Harvard Business Review, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times. He is author of Bribery and Corruption in Weak Institutional Environments (Cambridge 2019).

'The Rise of the China Inc. probes the political foundations of China's state-capitalism and provides an original explanation of why this system contains the seeds of its destruction even as it undermines the liberal global economic order. Shaomin Li's admirable ability to analyze how the institutions of a one-party regime shape business environment and corporate decisions has produced refreshing insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the world's new economic superpower.' Minxin Pei, Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College 'Shaomin Li is one of the most well-versed and nuanced scholars writing on China today. This book reflects more than 30 years of both lived experience and scholarship. It is a timely analysis that should be devoured by any scholar, politician, policy maker and business leader wanting to understand 21st Century China.' Timothy M. Devinney, Chair and Professor of International Business, Alliance Manchester Business School 'In this deeply researched volume, Li argues that the Chinese Communist Party's rule presents an entirely new challenge to democracies since, unlike the Axis powers in World War II or the USSR in the Cold War, China is closely intertwined with them both economically and socially. Because China relies on these democracies for markets, they must unite to press for the changes they desire, even to the point of delinkage if China does not yield.' June Teufel Dreyer, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Miami 'The rise of China as a global superpower presents a challenge for scholars and managers. Dr. Li presents a new perspective to understand the unique political and economic system of modern China, the state governing the entire economy as a large corporation. His decades-long research on social institutions and governance shows that the boundary between the firm and society is unclear. It presents a novel and refreshing view to explain why the Chinese state can be as swift and agile as the firm while corporations act as resourcefully as the state. This new perspective presents a useful framework for multinational corporations and foreign governments to develop successful strategies and effective policies toward China.' Seung Ho Park, President's Chair and Professor of Strategy and International Business, Nanyang Technological University 'China, Inc. provides clear recommendations for corporations to deal with a China that is increasingly inwardly repressive and outwardly aggressive. Li provides a pragmatic view for a world where great power competition is unlike any seen before.' Robert Spalding, Brigadier General (Ret.), USAF, and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute 'Are the modern democracies safe? Having survived a hot war with the Axis Powers and a Cold War with the Soviet Union, they now face a challenge from what Shaomin Li astutely calls 'China, Inc.' - a huge autocracy that is run like a corporation. China, Inc. is in some ways as frightening as its two twentieth-century predecessors but is a different kind of animal. It is more intertwined with the democracies, and the battle fronts are more psychological than physical. Accordingly, Li accompanies his wake-up call with some practical advice.' Perry Link, Chancellorial Chair for Teaching Across Disciplines, University of California, Riverside 'Shaomin Li's work is groundbreaking. Relation-based countries like China operate on a different set of rules set by the international community. Rule of law is replace with rule by law. China's companies are pawns in the Communist government's grand geopolitical game and self-preservation needs. Prof. Shaomin Li provides a clear and concise treatment of the China Inc phenomenon, its origins and consequences. It is a must read to those studying or doing business in China.' Ilan Alon, Professor of Strategy and International Marketing, University of Agder 'A masterpiece in explaining the peculiar convergence - and complicity - of communist dictatorship and capitalist profiteering at the expense of Chinese people's wellbeing and the fate of global democratization. Li's work is a must-read for anyone who cares about human freedom and its predicament presented by the rise of the CCP, Inc.' M. Miles Yu, Professor, Department of History, United States Naval Academy