Publication

This paper examines the widespread use of 'guanxi' business networks by private sector firms in China to connect with actors in the political sphere. It argues that on the one hand legal, political and market structures are becoming institutionalized; but on the other, informal guanxi networks remain a key component to firm success. The authors conclude that the use of informal guanxi networks is unlikely to disappear and that their employment is reconcilable with a market-oriented liberalization agenda. The paper reviews a number of case studies.