Dongya Huang from Sun Yat-sen University reveals the real relationship between enterprises and the state.

The relationship between states and enterprises has always been a hot topic in Chinese studies overseas. As someone who has worked in a government relations position for a Chinese Internet platform, I find this subject particularly intriguing and relevant to my own interests. Hope it’s this summary is helpful. Press the subscribe button if you like it.

Recently, a well-known Chinese podcast called “Leftright” released its latest episode, “Lobbying Within the System,” featuring Professor Huang Dongya. In this episode, they discuss the power dynamics between various enterprises and the state, including how private and foreign companies manage to influence state decisions. Although the podcast is in Chinese, I highly recommend it to anyone who can understand the language. For those who can’t, don’t worry – just follow along with me!

Huang Dongya is an Associate Professor in the School of Government at Sun Yat-sen University, located in Guangzhou, China. She received her PhD from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. With a deep-seated expertise in comparative politics and Chinese politics, Professor Huang has significantly contributed to our understanding of the intricate relationship between the Chinese government and enterprises.

In this episode, she introduced her new book, Lobbying within the System. In the West, interest group politics involves lobbying and competition to influence the political system. In China, we view lobbying as pursuing special interests, not public interests. Despite this, we observe changes in China’s political development, with lobbying concepts emerging within the system, though still distinct from the West.

She believes the Chinese government has three goals: political, economic, and social. All decisions are made at the base of balancing these goals. When economic goals are prioritized, interests align more closely between the state and enterprises. Political goals have been relatively stable, but social goals have fluctuated in recent years. (Regulation on after-school tutoring institutions was designed to lower the burden for children, which is part of the state’s social goals, and it is the same as regulation on the gaming industry in recent........

© Pearls and Irritations