THE TRANSFORMATION OF CHINA'S SOE LEADERSHIP UNDER THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE: PATRONAGE-BASED MERIT

Abstract

How to balance political patronage and meritocracy has been a central question in China's cadre personnel management studies over the past three decades. The literature thus far has produced several interesting theoretical concepts such as "political meritocracy" and "merit-based patronage" to feature the changing modes of cadre management. More recently, there is a growing interest in discussing this issue for the management of China’s SOE leaders, who play distinct dual roles as both party cadres and business entrepreneurs. These studies however mainly examine the SOE leaders’ career paths and mobility before President Xi Jinping came to power. This study aims to add to this discussion by examining the transformation of China’s SOE leadership in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), one of the most important policy initiatives under Xi Jinping’s Administration. The BRI gives a new impetus to the transformation of SOEs' cadre management because SOEs are expected to play a leading role in the BRI, compelling a need for competent leaders to manage China’s overseas investment.