China's New Business Elite: The Political Consequences of Economic Reform

by Margaret M. Pearson

The transition from a planned to a market economy that began in China in the late 1970s unleashed an extraordinary series of changes, including increases in private enterprise, foreign investment, the standard of living, and corruption. Another result of economic reform has been the creation of a new class―China's new business elite. Margaret M. Pearson considers the impact that this new class is having on China's politics. She concludes that, contrary to the assumptions of Westerners, these groups are not at the forefront of the emergence of a civil society; rather, they are part of a system shaped deliberately by the Chinese state to ensure that economic development will not lead to democratization.

Genres: Nonfiction

218 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 1997

Reviews

[LaMarx · Rating 3 out of 5]

China’s New Business Elite is a flawed, but important work. Pearson shows how the capitalist class, especially those in foreign-owned and joint-venture firms, including many SOEs, advocate their positions through guanxi, through associations, and how state bureaucrats are immersed in these associations.
She shows similarities between China’s reform and some cases in Hungary’s reform period. Where the issues begin is when she starts talking about “civil society.” The current system benefits the capitalist class. Even if they would prefer more widespread market reforms, they are in a good position. She makes clear that many managers do not pay any mind to party cells in the workplace, especially after the 1980s. One aside she ought to have focused more on is this: one interviewee in the research said that rapid and widespread reforms would cause unrest, ultimately damaging the position of the emerging semi-autonomous capitalist class. This isn’t to say that the party was not already acting as a collective capitalist, of course.
This book gets three big booms. Boom! Boom! Boom!