ANU China Seminar Series
Thursday 31 May 2018, 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Seminar Room A, China in the World Building (188), Fellows Lane, ANU
Never in world history has one government had so much control over so much wealth. China’s socialist legacy, augmented by its state-led development model, has left its leaders with expansive authority over a vast political-industrial complex, dominated by powerful government agencies, wealthy state-owned banks and enterprises, and entrepreneurial regional officials. The temptation to deploy China’s economic might for strategic benefit has proven irresistible. China has developed one of the world’s most active and consequential programs of economic statecraft. It is also one of the most distinctive. Drawing upon my current book manuscript, this talk will explore how Chinese leaders’ dependence upon economic agencies, state-owned enterprises and local officials shapes both the strategies and effectiveness of China’s economic statecraft. Drawing upon years of field research across mainland Asia and Europe, this presentation will spotlight key findings from my comparative case studies on North Korea and Myanmar, as well as from across Eastern and Western Europe.
About the speaker
James Reilly is an Associate Professor in Northeast Asian Politics in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (George Washington University 2008) and an M.A. in East Asia Area Studies (University of Washington 1999), was a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Oxford (2008-09), and a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy (2015-16). He also served as the East Asia Representative of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in China from 2001-2008. He is the author of Strong Society, Smart State: The Rise of Public Opinion in China’s Japan Policy (Columbia University Press 2012), and the co-editor of Australia and China at 40 (UNSW Press 2012). His articles have appeared in numerous edited volumes and academic journals.