The political economy of Chinese development

Margaret M. Pearson, Meg Rithmire and Kellee S. Tsai

Chapter 19 in Handbook of Comparative Political Economy, 2025, pp 340-358 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter reviews the broad trajectory of China's post-Mao economic development: its transition from state socialism, the era of gradual capitalist growth and global integration, and the present moment of expanded state control. Key topics in China's political economy are presented that illustrate critical tensions between party-state discretion and market mechanisms, including the manufacturing sectors, the country's pursuit of technological advancement, the centrality of real estate, and the role of the financial system. Although China exhibits qualities associated with familiar models of political economy such as the developmental state and state capitalism, its size, mode of global integration, and political regime make it unique in its combination of market mechanisms and party-state control. Under Xi Jinping's rule, national security has taken a prominent role in the Chinese Communist Party's management of the economy, which has tightened control over the domestic private sector and triggered a backlash by many OECD members. Yet the Chinese economy remains highly globalized with growing influence in the developing world. China's developmental experience both challenges and builds on mainstream paradigms in comparative political economy.

Keywords: China; Political economy; Economic reform; Socialist transition; Party-state capitalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035327775
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