One of the core assumptions of recent American foreign policy is
that China's post-1978 policy of "reform and openness" will lead to
political liberalization. This book challenges that assumption and
the general relationship between economic liberalization and
democratization. Moreover, it analyzes the effect of foreign direct
investment (FDI) liberalization on Chinese labor politics.
Market reforms and increased integration with the global economy
have brought about unprecedented economic growth and social change
in China during the last quarter of a century. "Contagious
Capitalism" contends that FDI liberalization played several roles
in the process of China's reforms. First, it placed competitive
pressure on the state sector to produce more efficiently, thus
necessitating new labor practices. Second, it allowed difficult and
politically sensitive labor reforms to be extended to other parts
of the economy. Third, it caused a reformulation of one of the key
ideological debates of reforming socialism: the relative importance
of public industry. China's growing integration with the global
economy through FDI led to a new focus of debate--away from the
public vs. private industry dichotomy and toward a nationalist
concern for the fate of Chinese industry.
In comparing China with other Eastern European and Asian
economies, two important considerations come into play, the book
argues: China's pattern of ownership diversification and China's
mode of integration into the global economy. This book relates
these two factors to the success of economic change without
political liberalization and addresses the way FDI liberalization
has affected relations between workers and the ruling Communist
Party. Its conclusion: reform and openness in this context resulted
in a strengthened Chinese state, a weakened civil society
(especially labor), and a delay in political liberalization.
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