Publications

@mastersthesis{Janssen2019,

title = {Chinese Firms in the Belt and Road Initiative: Building a Passive Revolution},

author = {Janssen, Thomas},

url = {https://corpnet.uva.nl/thesis_janssen_11054603/},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-07-12},

abstract = {The Belt and Road Initiative is in crisis because many participants are worried about dept trap

diplomacy and not sharing equally in the benefits. How can it be then that Chinese companies are

still receiving the vast majority of Belt and Road construction contracts? This thesis seeks to

contribute to an answer to this question. By invoking the concept of passive revolution as a

theoretical lens, it argues that the Chinese elite is more likely to favor contract allocation to

companies that are more controlled by it, especially in economic sectors that are more important to

their interests. Four categories of companies are constructed on a continuum from most to least

central Party controlled. Contracts are split among three sectors that are, domestically, tightly

regulated (‘strategic’), less regulated (‘pillar’) and least regulated (‘normal’). The thesis finds that

centrally controlled state-owned enterprises account for over 90% of Chinese-funded Belt and Road

construction contracts. The Chinese political elite is found to be even more eager to control the Belt

and Road than its domestic economy. Future research will have to take stock of, and further

examine, why Chinese state-owned companies feature so prominently in the Belt and Road.},

keywords = {Belt and Road, China, corporate power, Ownership, state capitalism, State ownership, states},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {mastersthesis}

}