The Shenzhen Exception
Selective Empowerment and Institutional Innovation in China's Sub-Provincial Governance Under Xi Jinping
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6434893 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Song Yao (0000-0002-5357-0264, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen), X Tan (0000-0001-9210-439X, The University of Melbourne) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 378-401 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Current Chinese Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1868-1026 • E-ISSN: 1868-4874 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/18681026251362478 |
| OpenAlex | W4412882056 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
This article examines how and why the Chinese central government has intensified its engagement with Shenzhen under Xi Jinping. It highlights new institutional mechanisms – comprehensive authorisation packages, inter-ministerial conference frameworks, and personnel secondment schemes – that enable Shenzhen to interact directly with central authorities, bypassing traditional bureaucratic intermediaries. These arrangements transform Shenzhen into a key site for aligning local policy experimentation with national priorities. Drawing on field interviews and policy documents, the article argues that these mechanisms reflect a targeted strategy to address three national imperatives: industrial upgrading, deeper integration with Hong Kong, and managing Sino–U.S. economic decoupling. The evolving relationship is underpinned by selective empowerment – a form of conditional delegation in which the centre entrusts select localities with expanded policy discretion under structured oversight. This model does not signify a shift towards decentralisation or recentralisation but reflects a recalibration of central–local relations, emphasising functional responsiveness over rigid hierarchy
Business · China · Corporate governance · Economic growth · Economics · Empowerment · Political science · China's Global Influence and Migration · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Law · Public Administration · Finance
Shenzhen
Central–local interactions in foreign affairs
De Facto Federalism in China
China's “Soft” Centralization
“Fragmented Authoritarianism 2.0”
Why China's economic reforms differ
The Campaign to “Open Up the West”
Heroes of the Special Zone
The Shenzhen Experiment
The Role of Planning in the Development of Shenzhen, China
The soft power of hard tech—The “Shenzhen Model” as an ideological device
Provincial Power in a Centralizing China
China’s Local Governance in Perspective
Localism in Retreat? Central-Provincial Relations in the Xi Jinping Era
Provinces in Command
Flexible’ versus ‘fragmented’ authoritarianism
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area in the making
Shenzhen
From Hong Kong’s Capitalist Fundamentals to Singapore’s Authoritarian Governance
Policy Experimentation in China’s Economic Rise
Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour
Federalism, Chinese Style
The state of the field for governance and policy innovation in China
The Reinvention of Development Planning in China, 1993–2012
Bayspeak
Guangdong's Challenges
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |