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

National Program Meeting

Study Group on Governance in China (Atlanta)

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
March 30, 1999

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

National Program Meeting

Study Group on Governance in China (Los Angeles)

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
March 23, 1999

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.

National Program Meeting

Study Group on Governance in China (Chicago)

Commentator: Dali Yang
Panelist: Stephen J. Del
Speaker: Elizabeth C. Economy, Fellow, China Studies, and Deputy Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
March 15, 1999

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.

View All Meetings