Executive Summary 执行摘要
The Chinese economy has experienced significant transformations over the last 50 years. One of this transformation is the shift from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, thus reducing the government control over businesses, and as such, giving them the autonomy to operate freely. Whereas this is the case, this paper observes that businesses in the Chinese economy are still strongly linked to the government, both local and national, through connections to the political elite. Such connections are expected to provide them access to special favors on the Chinese market. However, these connections expose businesses to political shocks that could lead to their collapse. Therefore, businesses need to relate to the government through seeking universal policies that encourage fair and competitive trade activities. Similarly, rather than seeking connections with individuals, businesses should seek to establish ties with institutions.
在过去50年中，中国经济经历了重大转型。这一转变之一是从中央计划经济向市场经济的转变，从而减少了政府对企业的控制，从而赋予了企业自由经营的自主权。鉴于这种情况，本文观察到，中国经济中的企业仍然通过与政治精英的联系与地方和政府紧密相连。这种联系有望使他们在中国市场上获得特殊优惠。然而，这些联系使企业面临政治冲击，可能导致企业倒闭。因此，企业需要通过寻求鼓励公平竞争贸易活动的普遍政策与政府建立联系。类似地，企业不应寻求与个人的联系，而应寻求与机构建立联系。
Introduction 介绍
Since the 1950s, there has been a significant shift towards the recognition of the role that businesses play in promoting economic growth and development. In line with this, governments and policymakers have come to a realization that without enhancing their business environment and as such, promoting both local and international trade, the chances of achieving faster economic growth and development are low. In reference to Thurik and Wennekers (2004), businesses within a particular economy not only provide employment and promote political and social stability but also act as a platform upon which countries can promote innovation and development of new technologies. Therefore, governments and policymakers across the globe have focused on ways of establishing and maintaining relationships with businesses within their jurisdiction as a way to enhance trade. According to Hughes and O'Neill (2008), governments and businesses are codependent and none can function without the other. In his research, von Staden (2008) emphasizes the fact that the core reasons behind the relationship between the government and businesses is to promote nation building, and such relationship are dynamic in nature and continuously evolve with time. Speaking from this point of view, this paper evaluates the relationship between governments and businesses within its economy. Importantly, the paper will concentrate on the nature of government-business relations in China. The main objective of the paper is to establish whether the nature of government-business relations has shifted from confrontation to cooperation.
自20世纪50年代以来，企业在促进经济增长和发展中所起作用的认识发生了重大转变。与此相一致，各国政府和决策者已经认识到，如果不改善其商业环境，也不促进本地和国际贸易，实现更快经济增长和发展的机会就很低。参考Thurik和Wennekers（2004年），特定经济体中的企业不仅提供就业机会，促进政治和社会稳定，而且还充当促进新技术创新和发展的平台。因此，全球各国政府和决策者都将重点放在如何与管辖范围内的企业建立和维持关系上，以此促进贸易。根据Hughes和O'Neill（2008）的观点，政府和企业是相互依赖的，没有其他政府和企业可以发挥作用。von Staden（2008）在其研究中强调，政府和企业之间关系背后的核心原因是促进建设，而这种关系本质上是动态的，并随着时间不断演变。从这一角度出发，本文评估了政府与企业在其经济中的关系。重要的是，本文将集中讨论中国政企关系的性质。本文的主要目的是确定政企关系的性质是否已从对抗转向合作。
Nature of the Business-government Relation in China 中国企业与政府关系的性质
To begin with, researchers and scholars across the globe have tried to simplify the relationship between businesses and the government in a particular economy into three main models namely clientelism, corporatism and pluralism (Kennedy 2009; Zhu 2015). In reference to Kennedy (2009), corporatism promotes a government-business relation whereby the government plays a greater role in managing such a relationship through interaction with business representatives. Similarly, Zhu (2015) defines clientelism as the business-government relation that operates based mainly on informal networks that connect business and political elites. With regard to pluralism, the government relates to businesses mainly through the civil societies, either formally or informally, to protect their interests. Whereas this is the case, a deep analysis of China’s business-government relations reveals that the existing relations between the two entities do not strictly fit in any of the above business-government relation models. On the contrary, Zhu (2015) points out that due to its large size as a country, the business-government relations in China have fragments of corporatism, clientelism and pluralism, depending on the level at which the government relates with the business, as well as on factors such as the size of the business in question. The inability of the business-government relations in China to strictly fit in any particular model can further be explained by the fact that since the 1970s, the Chinese economy has been shifting from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, thus reducing the direct influence that government on business through micromanagement of enterprises.
首先，全球各地的研究人员和学者试图将特定经济体中企业与政府之间的关系简化为三种主要模式，即客户主义、社团主义和多元化（Kennedy 2009；Zhu 2015）。参考Kennedy（2009），社团主义促进政府与企业的关系，通过与企业代表的互动，政府在管理这种关系方面发挥更大的作用。类似地，Zhu（2015）将客户主义定义为主要基于连接商业和政治精英的非正式网络运作的商业-政府关系。关于多元化，政府主要通过民间社会正式或非正式地与企业联系，以保护其利益。鉴于这种情况，对中国企业与政府关系的深入分析表明，这两个实体之间的现有关系并不严格符合上述任何企业与政府关系模型。相反，朱（2015）指出，由于中国幅员辽阔，中国的企业与政府关系存在社团主义、客户主义和多元化的碎片，这取决于政府与企业的关系水平，以及相关企业的规模等因素。中国企业与政府之间的关系无法严格适应任何特定模式，这可以进一步解释为，自20世纪70年代以来，中国经济一直在从中央计划经济转向市场经济，从而减少政府通过企业微观管理对企业的直接影响。