*When: March 1st, Tue, 11:45-12:45
*Where: MH 230
Title: Stumbling Toward Capitalism: The Unexpected Emergence of China’s Independent Auto Industry
Abstract:
In
her dissertation, Stumbling Toward Capitalism: The Unexpected Emergence
of China’s Independent Auto Industry, Chang analyzes the unintended
consequences of China’s experimental policymaking approach through the
lens of the auto industry. Specifically, she investigate the origins of
China’s independent automakers, many of which are privately-held. The
emergence of an independent automobile sector in China is puzzling
given the industry’s historically high financial and technological
barriers to entry and the Chinese government’s staunch support of
state-owned automakers. Chang finds that the emergence of independent
automakers was not the direct outcome of national industrial policies,
as was the case in Japan and South Korea. Rather, Chang argues that
Chinese entrepreneurial automakers indirectly benefited from: 1) the
successes and shortcomings of the party-state’s joint venture (JV)
policy, 2) China’s accession to the WTO, and 3) the changing nature of
production networks in the global auto industry. Her argument stands in
stark contrast to that of scholars who largely credit the party-state’s
industrial policy for the modernization of China’s auto sector. Chapter
4, presented here, specifically explores the ways in which China’s
accession to the WTO and key changes in global production networks
opened opportunities for China’s independent automakers to break into
the domestic auto market. The of the four leading independent
automakers – BYD, Chery, Geely and Great Wall – are presented as case
studies to support the argument. Chang will also discuss these auto
makers' motives and path for global expansion and challenges facing
them ahead.
