Prof. James Reilly (University of Sydney)

In this talk, James Reilly will discuss his new book on China’s economic statecraft. Drawing on extensive field research, Orchestration traces the origins, operations and effectiveness of Beijing’s economic statecraft across Asia and Europe. China’s unique experience as a planned economy, and then a developmental state, all under a single Leninist party, left Chinese leaders with unchallenged authority over their economy. However, despite successfully mobilizing companies, banks and local officials to rapidly expand trade and investment abroad, Chinese leaders largely failed to influence key policy decisions overseas. Economic engagement with China thus yields more benefits with fewer costs than generally assumed. Orchestration concludes by placing China in comparative perspective, laying the foundation for a new research field: comparative economic statecraft.