Tripartite Consultation: An Emergent Form of Governance Shaping Employment Relations in China

Abstract

This article examines China's approach to industrial consultation by examining six tripartite bodies at the national, provincial and county levels. It argues that the institutionalisation of tripartitism is consistent with China's overall approach to market reform being characterised by experimentalism, gradualism, dynamism and a gradual softening of party domination. Despite limitations, it is accepted that China is building a transition tripartite system that is bolstering the autonomy and representational capacity of the social partners.