Confronting Chinese State Capitalism

China has practiced state capitalism for many years, but its form, function and implications have changed dramatically over the past decade. The Xi administration is more committed to its statist vision for China’s economy and global footprint than when Xi took over in late 2012 or in 2017 at the beginning of the Trump administration. China’s rapid movement into high-tech sectors makes finding effective solutions more important – and more pressing – than ever.

This event will feature two panels of leading experts from academia, business and government. The first will focus on the institutions of state capitalism – China’s behemoth and globe-spanning state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and a Communist Party that is now a direct regulator and more involved in corporate affairs than ever before. The second will focus on the market distortions created by China’s state capitalism at home and abroad, including weakened intellectual property rights, overcapacity, and fragile supply chains. The event will conclude with remarks from James McGregor, Chairman, Greater China for APCO Global, who has been a leading authority on China for the last quarter century. 

Panel 1: The Party-State is Back: The New Face of Chinese State Capitalism

Moderator:
Jude Blanchette, Freeman Chair in China Studies

Panelists:
Barry Naughton, Chair of Chinese International Affairs, University of California, San Diego
Andrew Batson, China Research Director, GavekalDragonomics
Wendy Leutert, Chair of Chinese Economics and Trade, Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University
Meg Rithmire, Associate Professor of Business of Administration, Harvard University

Panel 2: Confronting China’s Market Distortions

Moderator:
Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics

Panelists:
Carolyn Bartholomew, Chairman, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission
Rob Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation 
Daniel Crosby, Partner, International Trade & Government Matters, King & Spalding
Arthur Kroeber, Founding Partner & Head of Research, GavekalDragonomics

Concluding Remarks
James McGregor, Chairman of Greater China, APCO Worldwide

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.

Related CSIS Activity

Podcast: Pekingology, “The New Realities of Party-State Capitalism,” January 28, 2021.

Commentary: Jude Blanchette, “Confronting the Challenge of Chinese State Capitalism,” January 22, 2021.

Report: Scott Livingston, The New Challenge of Communist Corporate Governance, January 15, 2021.

Blog Post: Scott Kennedy, “The Biggest but Not the Strongest: China’s Place in the Fortune Global 500,” August 18, 2020. 

Report: Edited by Scott Kennedy, State and Market in Contemporary China, March 2, 2016.