Special Economic Zones: The Subnational- National-International Nexus in China’s Integration With the International Economic Order

This article investigates China’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) strategy in the context of China’s integration with the international economic order by concurrently examining China’s internal and external economic policy. It expounds the experimental development path of a massive unitary country which strives to balance between the international pressure against the background of economic globalization and the internal unevenness across different regions. Based on case study of SEZs in different historical times, this article explores a subnational-national-international nexus in China’s integration with the international economic order. This article highlights that, throughout the history, the Chinese central government persistently mobilizes certain regions and names them as SEZs to experiment innovative policies, so as to facilitate the enactment of foreign economic policies and the engagement in international trade and investment negotiations. This study opens the black box of the Chinese State and tells a complementary story regarding China’s interaction with international economic law from a structural perspective. It provides a springboard for future studies of China’s engagement with the rules-based global economy in a world where the international economic legal order recursively travels across international, national and local levels. China, Special Economic Zones, International Economic Order, Regional Trade Agreements, Bilateral Investment Treaties, Shenzhen SEZ, Shanghai FTZ, Hainan FTP, Subnational-national-international Nexus