Abstract

Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have long been important actors in China’s economy and political system. Today, they also have a growing international presence, especially in infrastructure development. SOEs serve a variety of functions for the Chinese state, which governs them through mechanisms including bureaucratic design, personnel control, Chinese Communist Party organizations, and campaigns. Overseas, SOEs are evolving from contractors supported by Chinese development bank finance to become owners, operators, and investors of infrastructure projects. In this seminar, the speaker will outline how Chinese SOEs continue to serve domestic economic and political priorities while also deepening their commercial and strategic stakes in countries abroad.

About the Speaker

Wendy Leutert is Assistant Professor at Indiana University in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. Her research focuses on the reform and global expansion of China’s state-owned enterprises. Her publications include articles in International Security, Business and Politics,  World Development, New Political Economy, Studies in Comparative International Development, China Quarterly, and other journals. Currently she is a Fulbright-Hays Fellow with the U.S. Department of Education (2022-23) and a Public Intellectuals Program Fellow with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (2021-23). She holds a Ph.D. in Government fromCornell University and a M.A. in International Relations from Tsinghua University.