Given the paucity of in-depth case studies on civil society in China, particularly industrial or trade associations, this book has the potential to make a valuable contribution to the literature. It is based on extensive mining of both the English-language and Chinese-language literature on civil society and industrial associations, and even more important, extensive surveys of and interviews with associations, enterprises, and government officials. The book, however, does not deliver fully on its potential.
While the authors hope to use the Wenzhou case to contribute to our understanding of the broader relationship between the state and civil society in China, their more substantive contribution is to improve our understanding of the nature of industrial associations and their relationship with the local state in China. This book represents a summation of extensive research and writing on industrial associations in Wenzhou carried out by the authors starting as far back as 2002. Unfortunately, the process of preparing the book for publication in English took some time and therefore the book is somewhat outdated, having been completed by 2008 although some data and cases were added in 2009 and 2010.
The authors make two broad, seemingly contradictory, claims in this book. One is about how civil society emerges in China. The other is about why more independent industrial associations have emerged in Wenzhou than in other areas of China.
Their first claim is that the emergence of civil society in China is the result neither of a top-down, government-controlled process nor of bottom-up social forces, but of a negotiated process between government and business associations. They call this the “participation” model, though the authors never clarify the features of this model. They base this claim on their research, which shows that Wenzhou associations developed in a relatively autonomous fashion due to their interactions with local authorities. These interactions have generally been cooperative and reflect a different pattern of state-society interaction than the more confrontational pattern one sees in the West. This claim supports the finding of earlier studies that speak of the “negotiated” nature of civil society, “embedded activism,” and “dependent autonomy” to highlight the close ties between the state and civil society in China.
The authors' second claim is that this Wenzhou model is the result of conditions unique to Wenzhou. The authors argue that the emergence of relatively autonomous business associations in Wenzhou is not the inevitable result of a market economy. The emergence of a private economy in Wenzhou did provide a necessary but not sufficient condition for associations. It created incentives among private enterprises to protect industry interests and standardize the market, and thereby engage in communication and exchange with one another in an increasingly competitive environment by establishing associations. But the private economy was not a sufficient condition. A critical condition, the authors argue, was the role of the local government in recognizing the value of business associations and creating a legal environment that would promote their development.
These two claims seem to contradict one another. In their first claim, the authors want to show that the Wenzhou model reflects a more general model of civil society development in China. Yet their second claim that Wenzhou is unique raises the question of how it can represent a more general pattern. This second claim of uniqueness is also put forth without much support. The authors refer to Wenzhou's tradition of private business and the strength of its social networks based on clan ties and religion. But a more persuasive case requires carrying out a comparative analysis of the development of industrial associations in Wenzhou and other localities with similar and different conditions. One of the weaknesses of this book-length study is that it is entirely focused on the Wenzhou case and offers no comparison with other localities.
The book's main contribution lies in its detailed description of the industrial associations, providing examples of relatively independent associations that do seek to serve their members and use multiple channels to influence government policy and behavior. But even here, the authors could have gone further in their surveys and analysis, for example by distinguishing between more independent associations, such as chambers of commerce, and associations with closer ties to government bureaus to see if they differed in their approach and impact in influencing local governments. Or they might have done more comparative analysis of business associations in Wenzhou and other localities. Hopefully the authors will pursue these questions in their future research.
