Orchestration

Orchestration explores the origins, operations, and effectiveness of China’s distinctive “orchestration” approach to economic statecraft. It describes how China engages in economic statecraft, explains why China uses this approach, and identifies when Beijing’s efforts are most effective. The first two chapters trace how China’s unique historical experiences and complex political-economic structures led to Beijing’s orchestration approach. Today, Chinese leaders deploy incentives and innovative policies to mobilize a vast array of companies, banks, and local officials to rapidly expand trade and investment with targeted countries around the world. China’s economic statecraft thus requires only a light touch. Four chapters comparing China’s economic statecraft across Europe, and in Myanmar and North Korea, reveal Beijing’s orchestration in action. Policymakers combined delegation with incentives, encouraged participation by regional authorities and enterprises, and facilitated interest alignment among implementing actors to successfully mobilize domestic actors. When problems with enterprise malfeasance, policy stretching, and moral hazards emerged, central leaders adroitly reversed course. Despite successful implementation, Beijing’s economic statecraft exacerbated populist anxieties, undermining China’s foreign policy goals. The policy implications for countries targeted by China’s economic statecraft are thus broadly reassuring. Orchestration concludes by laying a foundation for future studies in comparative economic statecraft.