Interesting article on China
Here is an article that challenges popular perceptions about China. It references a few other articles, notably this WSJ article (subsc reqd).
Western views of an authoritarian central government in China that controls all activity in the country help to reinforce the misconception that there is a single China. There is no doubt that the central government is authoritarian, but it is easy to overstate the control it exercises throughout the country.
China’s leaders are caught in a trap as they cast around for ways to rein in investment. The old administrative methods - ordering state banks to stop lending, restricting land sales, halting government approvals for major projects - aren’t working as well as before, partly because local governments are defying Beijing.
Much of the economic growth of the country has been triggered by intense competition across municipal and provincial governments to attract private investment.
It is no longer (if it ever was) sufficient for companies to have a “China strategy” - they need to define a Shanghai strategy, Shenzhen strategy, etc.
Western views of an authoritarian central government in China that controls all activity in the country help to reinforce the misconception that there is a single China. There is no doubt that the central government is authoritarian, but it is easy to overstate the control it exercises throughout the country.
China’s leaders are caught in a trap as they cast around for ways to rein in investment. The old administrative methods - ordering state banks to stop lending, restricting land sales, halting government approvals for major projects - aren’t working as well as before, partly because local governments are defying Beijing.
Much of the economic growth of the country has been triggered by intense competition across municipal and provincial governments to attract private investment.
It is no longer (if it ever was) sufficient for companies to have a “China strategy” - they need to define a Shanghai strategy, Shenzhen strategy, etc.