THE JANUS FACE OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS IN CHINA - SOCIALIST CORPORATISM IN FOREIGN ENTERPRISES

Post-Mao society has seen a revitalization of the role of "associations' (xiehui), including in the foreign sector of the economy. Extensive, if complete, decentralization of the economy and the concomitant strengthening of economic actors during the last decade and a half have allowed this limited, Chinese-style associated life to emerge. The two frameworks posited in this article - an historically-based dualism and socialist corporatism - go a long way toward explaining the role of business associations in China's foreign sector. -from Author