The Role of Cities and Provinces in China's Regional Relations

In the past three decades, China has emerged from relative isolation to become a regional hub of economic and political power. Nonetheless, there are a number of countries that have been resistant to China's overtures. This project will focus on those countries that continue to have significant disagreements with China, asking to what extent subnational ties (those between counterpart cities and provinces, respectively) form a bilateral bridge. This project is motivated by something of a paradox between China's diplomatic relations and the subnational relationships that China has forged with targeted states since the 1970s. Broadly speaking, the three most difficult regional relationships for China are with Japan, the United States, and India. These are also the three states that have been the most resistant to new Chinese foreign policy initiatives. Yet, at the subnational level, China has more than 360 bilateral dyads with Japanese cities and prefectures; the largest number of such ties with a single country. The second largest number of subnational ties China has is with the United States, at 277 pairings. Although not as extensive, in the last decade China has sought to use subnational relations with India as a way of overcoming national-level difficulties. These paradoxical situations lead to the research question: what is the role of subnational actors in China's regional relations? This project will explore the value these ties add to foreign relations between China and these three countries, examining their modalities and utility beyond the subnational level. In realizing the aims of the project, I will draw upon (and refine) research methodologies developed in earlier fieldwork conducted earlier in China, Japan, and Taiwan (Thomas and Williams 2017), conducting semi-structured interviews with local government officials (primarily in the foreign affairs, trade, tourism, and education bureaux). These will be buttressed with interviews with local chambers of commerce and social organisations. This fieldwork-driven approach will be supported by secondary materials and desk-top research. Theoretically, the project advances our understanding of subnational relations by extending anostensibly liberal model into an authoritarian setting. This raises a number of secondary questions: does an authoritarian state’s ability to enforce its political will throughout its domestic system mean that subnational relations are simply diplomatic relations by another name? Alternatively, is there greater agency for subnational actors than theory allows? Empirically, in the case of China, this project will explore the degree to which the state is centralised in the key area of foreign policy. In drawing these strands together, the project will provide an intellectual platform for the post-project engagement of local actors in Hong Kong to develop external ties with their overseas counterparts.