Papers by Kasper I . Beck
The China Quarterly, Jan 31, 2022
This article analyses the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the corporate governance o... more This article analyses the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the corporate governance of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including a case study of a central-level SOE holding group. Relying on official documents, secondary literature and interviews with enterprise managers, government officials and academics, the article documents how the CCP has actively formalized its role in Chinese business by embedding itself in the corporate governance structure of SOEs. Through the application of Chinese indigenous administrative corporate governance concepts such as “bidirectional entry, cross appointment” and “three majors, one big,” the CCP has consolidated its dominance of enterprise decision-making procedures and personnel appointment and created a hybrid, Party-led model of corporate governance. While this hybrid model can secure enterprise compliance, communication with higher state and Party organs, as well as long-term development planning, it is unlikely to help solve SOE efficiency problems and may even undermine other SOE reforms.
Important central departments such as the Central Propaganda Department and the United Front Depa... more Important central departments such as the Central Propaganda Department and the United Front Department are still represented in the Politburo, whereas the important Central Organizational Department (COD) has lost its seat. The current COD head is Chen Xi, Xi Jinping's roommate when he studied at Tsinghua University. It appears that Xi Jinping is reluctant to let him retire, although it is unusual that the serving minister of the COD is not a Politburo member. Xi will probably wait to change the leadership at the department until the new round of leadership appointments is announced at the forthcoming NPC meeting. Central Committee The Party Congress elected a Central Committee consisting of 205 full members and 171 candidate members. The average age is 57.1, about the same as the previous Central Committee. It is a highly educated group, with 98 percent holding a college degree or above, defined as a BA (benke) or above. 114 members have an education in science and technology and 121 studied business-related subjects. As with the Politburo, the Central Committee appears to be composed with a view of creating a pool of expertise that can manage future challenges relating to high-priority development programs such as Made in China 2025, Internet+ and artificial intelligence.
• The 14 th National People's Congress (NPC) convened its first annual plenary session from March... more • The 14 th National People's Congress (NPC) convened its first annual plenary session from March 5 to March 13, 2023. As usual, the annual Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was concurrent with the NPC. • The government work report was presented by outgoing Premier Li Keqiang: China's gross domestic product (GDP) had risen to 121 trillion yuan, registering average annual growth of 5.2 percent; the volume of trade goods exceeded 40 trillion yuan, registering an annual growth rate of 8.6 percent; breakthroughs were made in core technologies in key fields; and spending on R&D increased from 2.1 percent to 2.5 percent of GDP. • The projected targets for economic growth and inflation in 2023 were set at around 5 percent and 3 percent respectively, and an aim of 12 million new urban jobs was announced. • The work report also highlighted worrying trends: unemployment; weak domestic demand; difficulties confronting small private businesses; a volatile real estate sector; and the budgetary imbalance of local governments. • One of the most striking aspects of this year's government work report is its emphasis on the past rather than the future with 26 pages out of 32 pages dedicated to summarizing past achievements.
The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies, Dec 8, 2021
Leading cadres in China are subject to rotation. An interesting form of rotation takes place betw... more Leading cadres in China are subject to rotation. An interesting form of rotation takes place between big business and the political world. That means one fifth of China's governors and vice governors have a business background as heads of one of China's large State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). How this takes place and which qualifications the involved business leaders possess are shrouded in mystery. Based on prosopographical studies of Chinese business leaders who have participated in the Chinese Executive Leadership Program (CELP), this article attempts to open the black box. The study examines the career pathways of CELP participants in Party, government and business positions. The study shows that 84 of the 261 CELP SOE participants (2005-2018) were subsequently promoted, and 20 of these promotions were from SOEs to leading Party and government positions. In some cases, former business leaders became Party secretaries in important provinces or ministers in key ministries. The article also argues that Chinese business leaders have managed to keep their administrative ranking in the Chinese nomenklatura system. In fact, Chinese business leaders are quasi officials (zhun guan) and form an important recruitment base for leadership renewal. As such, the article suggests that the rotation of cadres within the 'Iron Triangle' of Party-government-business constitutes the main unifying and stabilising factor in the Chinese political system.
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Papers by Kasper I . Beck