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Globalization and State Transformation in China (Cambridge Asia-Pacific Studies)

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We can hear "globalization" everywhere nowadays. Many believe that a global village will be formed in the coming future when the world is becoming more and more interdependent. And when different parts of the world share common values and norms, then we come to the age of globalization. However, Yongnian finds that China has a different path in responding globalization.

To begin with, Yongnian figures out some of the impacts of globalization towards China such as increasing unemployment caused by economic reform; decentralization within China for the need to counter growing global economic competition; the rise of information technology which "has created new tool for political participation" (p.13) and hence leads to the emergence of civil society. Globalization simply weakens many states, China is no exception.

Many argued that globalization has forced many states to comply the values, norms and rule of the game in the current international system, free market and free trade are the classical examples. Yongnian has come up with another perspective in chapter 2 and 3. No doubt that China needs to reform for globalization, but it does not mean that China has to conform all the things from the west. Since the late Qing dynasty, Chinese have already thought about "what and how to learn" from the west? (p.48) China's "socialist market economy" is indeed the result of "selective importation and innovation" from the west (pp.56-58). Thereafter, chapter 4 outlines the difference of political order in China before and after the economic reform. China's constitutional changes in 1975, 1978 and 1982, together with the constitution with amendment in 1999 as well as Jiang Zemin's three representation theory not only help to accommodate the changing socio-economic situation in China, but also justify the rationale behind the "Chinese" reform which is not purely westernization.

Facing the challenges of globalization, opening the market and advocating international trade are clearly not enough, China has gone through series of tough but necessary institutional reforms in its bureaucratic (chapter 5), taxation, finance and enterprise systems (chapter 6). Chapter 5 starts with a brief review on Zhao Ziyang's bureaucratic restructuring, then it comes to the details of Zhu Rongji's reforms. Chapter 6 looks at the complicated and often deregulated taxation system, which has been a controversial issue of central-local relations. Besides, banking system in China has also been modified according to the demand of market and international investors. Finally, Chinese government has to free its hand from the state owned enterprises if not to demolish them. After launching the above reforms, there are many discontents among farmers and lay-off workers which are the particular concern in chapter 7. Other problems include the disparities in rural and urban areas, regional disparities between costal and inland areas, corruption and moral decay.

The last two chapters focus on the debates between neo-liberalism and new left, and the issues of rule of law, rule by law as well as rule by virtue respectively. The supporters of neo-liberalism regard globalization as a positive movement that China should accept the international rules and norms. But the new leftists argue that the more interdependence between China and other countries, the more capability of other countries to constrain the rise of China. The intellectual debate between neo-liberalism and new left also extends to other topics such as democracy and state structure. Before coming to the end of the book, Yongnian reminds the readers that the greatest problem of the rule of law nowadays in China is the problem of enforcement. First, if the law could not be enforced, the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party will be undermined (p.192). Second, if the legal measures fail and then the leaders refer to political campaigns, all the efforts to build a legal state in China will definitely fail as well (p.197). Indeed, it remains to be seen whether Jiang Zemin's address on rule by virtue can cope with the current deficit of rule of law in China.

I highly recommend this book to general reader of Chinese studies. The political system of China is always considered to be complicated, especially during the reform era which state organs changed from time to time according to the preferences of different leaders. Yongnian provides a primitive but comprehensive survey on the changing state structure and system since 1980s, his work also offers a wider vision to a changing China in the context of globalization, political order and social movements rather than purely economics.