Study Group on Governance in China

Study Group

Study Group on Governance in China

Chair:
Arnold Kanter
Staff:
Elizabeth C. Economy, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and Director for Asia Studies

October 1, 1998 - April 1, 1999

To date there has been no examination of the implications and opportunities involved in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) political transition for either the success of China’s economic reform program or overall U.S. interests. The foreign policy community in the United States needs a more complete picture of the evolving social and political dynamics that will ultimately shape the China that emerges in the 21st century. This group filled in this gap by examining the political reforms underway in the PRC, their implications for the success of economic reforms, and the opportunities for U.S. actors (government, business, and NGOs) to influence this process. Topics explored included: grassroots democracy, center-provincial relations, the evolution of the rule of law, the People’s Liberation Army and nationalism, and the rise of the entrepreneurial and middle classes. Elizabeth Economy’s analysis from the study group proceedings was the foundation for an article, titled "Reforming China," that was published in the journal Survival (Autumn 1999).

Meetings

Study Group on Governance in China (Atlanta)
National Program Meeting

March 30, 1999

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Commentator: Kenneth A. Cutshaw
Panelists: Mary Brown Bullock
Walter Massey
Speaker: Elizabeth C. Economy, Fellow, China Studies and Deputy Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Elizabeth Economy will present her preliminary findings from the Council study group on the interplay between the political and economic reforms underway in China and her analysis of what this means for the future of the People’s Republic of China and Sino-American relations.

Location: Agnes Scott College, Decatur

Study Group on Governance in China (Los Angeles)
National Program Meeting

March 23, 1999

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Commentators: Yong Wang
Stanley Rosen
Panelist: B. Boyd Hight
Speaker: Elizabeth C. Economy, Fellow, China Studies, and Deputy Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

This study group will examine the implications for U.S. interests of the changing interplay between China’s political and economic reforms focusing on such topics as grass roots democracy, center-provincial relations, the rule of law, and SOE and banking reform.

Dr. Economy’s most recent book is China Joins the World: Progress and Prospects.

Study Group on Governance in China (Chicago)
National Program Meeting

March 15, 1999

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Commentator: Dali Yang
Panelist: Stephen J. Del
Speaker: Elizabeth C. Economy, Fellow, China Studies, and Deputy Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

This study group will examine the implications for U.S. interests of the changing interplay between China’s political and economic reforms focusing on such topics as grass roots democracy, center-provincial relations, the rule of law, and SOE and banking reform.

Dr. Economy’s most recent book is China Joins the World: Progress and Prospects.

The Realpolitik of China's Elite
Study Group Meeting

February 18, 1999

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Presider: Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist: Arnold Kanter
Speaker: Michel Oksenberg

Central-Provincial-Local Relations: The Nature of State Control
Study Group Meeting

February 10, 1999

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Presider: Arnold Kanter
Speakers: Robert A. Pastor, Emory University
Yasheng Huang, Harvard University

Reforming the Legal System
Study Group Meeting

January 21, 1999

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Presider: Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist: Arnold Kanter
Speakers: Jerome A. Cohen, International Labor Rights Fund
Bama Athreya

Reforming the State Economy: SOEs and Banks
Study Group Meeting

December 3, 1998

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Presider: Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist: Arnold Kanter
Speakers: Nicholas R. Lardy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Edward S. Steinfeld

Making the State Work: The Challenge of Bureaucratic and PLA Reform
Study Group Meeting

November 12, 1998

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Presider: Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist: Arnold Kanter
Speakers: James Mulvenon, RAND Corporation
Thomas Pixley, Pacific Rim Resources, Inc.

The Chinese State in Transition: Reform of the Chinese Communist Party
Study Group Meeting

October 20, 1998

Related Project: Study Group on Governance in China

Presider: Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist: Arnold Kanter
Speaker: Bruce J. Dickson, George Washington University

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After two decades of liberalization, many countries around the world are adopting new restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) that could retard continued progress. The authors make recommendations for correcting this protectionist drift by proposing guidelines for how countries can better regulate FDI yet still reap its economic benefits.

Dealing with Damascus

In this Council Special Report, the authors make a strong case that the Bush administration’s policy of diplomatic isolation of Syria is not serving U.S. interests, and offer informed history and thoughtful analysis of the country and its external behavior.

Complete list of Council Special Reports.

David Rockefeller Studies Program Contacts

For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:

Gary Samore
Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1-212-434-9627
gsamore@cfr.org

Sebastian Mallaby
Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, Deputy Director of Studies, and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics
smallaby@cfr.org

Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1-212-434-9753
jhill@cfr.org
The Think Tank
The David Rockefeller Studies Program

The David Rockefeller Studies Program is the Council’s “think tank.” Its work is integral to achieving the Council’s goal of contributing to the foreign policy debate. Fellows in the Studies Program do this by researching, writing, and commenting on the most important challenges facing the United States and the world.
- Experts
- Projects

Chair:	Arnold Kanter
Staff:	Elizabeth C. Economy, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and Director for Asia Studies

Commentator:	Kenneth A. Cutshaw
Panelists:	Mary Brown Bullock
	Walter Massey
Speaker:	Elizabeth C. Economy, Fellow, China Studies and Deputy Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Commentators:	Yong Wang
	Stanley Rosen
Panelist:	B. Boyd Hight
Speaker:	Elizabeth C. Economy, Fellow, China Studies, and Deputy Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Commentator:	Dali Yang
Panelist:	Stephen J. Del
Speaker:	Elizabeth C. Economy, Fellow, China Studies, and Deputy Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Presider:	Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist:	Arnold Kanter
Speaker:	Michel Oksenberg

Presider:	Arnold Kanter
Speakers:	Robert A. Pastor, Emory University
	Yasheng Huang, Harvard University

Presider:	Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist:	Arnold Kanter
Speakers:	Jerome A. Cohen, International Labor Rights Fund
	Bama Athreya

Presider:	Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist:	Arnold Kanter
Speakers:	Nicholas R. Lardy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
	Edward S. Steinfeld

Presider:	Elizabeth C. Economy
Panelist:	Arnold Kanter
Speakers:	James Mulvenon, RAND Corporation
	Thomas Pixley, Pacific Rim Resources, Inc.

Study Group

New CFR Books

New Council Special Reports

Global FDI Policy

Dealing with Damascus

David Rockefeller Studies Program Contacts

The Think Tank

The David Rockefeller Studies Program