With Beijing seemingly capable of rewriting the rules to its own advantage, there have been fears that the country’s magnitude would destabilize the markets. However, in reality, Chinese companies have in many instances adapted themselves to and even improved the functioning of markets without changing the latter’s fundamental mechanics. The relationships between China's central government, the Communist Party and large state-owned enterprises remain complex, but such enterprises often seem to function according to their own processes and rationale.

Article published in Politique étrangère, Vol. 79, No. 3, Fall 2014