China's Policymaking for Regional Economic Cooperation

Yang Jiang opens the black box of China's policymaking for free trade agreements and key regional financial initiatives. Using first-hand interview data, she sheds light on the key trends of China's trade and financial politics after its WTO entry in 2001. In particular, she highlights the influence of competing domestic interests, protectionist and conservative forces vis-a-vis liberal and reformist forces; government agencies, ministries and national commissions, local governments; and different ideas on China's foreign economic policy. In doing so, she also provides interesting comparisons between China and other countries in international negotiations. Her invesitgation offers a fresh look into China, its changing decision-making under different generations of leadership, and the basis for its current and potential contribution to international economic cooperation.