Turning the Table: How Private Companies in China Leverage and Exploit State Assets from Local Governments

Speaker: Qianmin Hu, PhD Candidate in Political Science, Stanford University

While existing literature emphasizes state dominance and the frequent expropriation of private assets, this research investigates how private enterprises gain significant bargaining power over local governments, enabling them to expropriate state resources. Drawing on extensive qualitative fieldwork and a unique quantitative dataset derived from court judgments involving firm-government investment contracts, this study finds that private firms in China frequently breach contracts, leveraging and exploiting substantial subsidies and land price discounts from local governments. Such reversal of power is possible because local officials face intense bureaucratic incentives—such as unrealistic investment targets, prospects of promotion, and pressure from public shaming—to follow the central government's developmental agenda. These findings suggest that when an authoritarian government opens itself to potential exploitation by private firms, it implicitly guarantees property rights protection for private investments, thereby making its commitment to the private sector more credible.

About the Workshops

Our Young Researcher Workshops offer emerging China scholars an opportunity to engage directly with interdisciplinary faculty and peers from across campus to discuss and receive feedback on their research. Each workshop features one or several PhD students presenting their latest empirical findings on issues related to China’s economy. Past topics have included college major selection as an obstacle to socioeconomic mobility, the effect of a cooling-off period on marriage outcomes, and factors contributing to government corruption. Faculty and senior scholars provide comments and feedback for improvement. This event series helps to build and strengthen Stanford’s community of young researchers working on China.

Workshops are held on select Fridays from 12 - 1 pm. Lunch will be provided! 

Visit the Young Researcher Workshops webpage for more information on the content and format of the series and to learn how to sign up to present.