In this talk, James Reilly will discuss his new book on China’s economic statecraft. Drawing on extensive field research, Orchestration traces the origins, operations, and effectiveness of Beijing’s economic statecraft across Asia and Europe. China’s unique experience as a planned economy, and then a developmental state, all under a single Leninist party, left Chinese leaders with unchallenged authority over their economy. However, despite successfully mobilizing companies, banks, and local officials to rapidly expand trade and investment abroad, Chinese leaders largely failed to influence key policy decisions overseas. Economic engagement with China thus yields more benefits with fewer costs than generally assumed. Orchestration concludes by placing China in comparative perspective, laying the foundation for a new research field: comparative economic statecraft.

About the speaker

James Reilly is an Associate Professor in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. He holds degrees from George Washington University, University of Washington, and Guilford College. He has been a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Oxford. He also served in China as the East Asia Representative of the American Friends Service Committee from 2001-2008. His articles have appeared in numerous edited volumes and academic journals. He is also the author of Strong Society, Smart State: The Rise of Public Opinion in China’s Japan Policy, and the co-editor of Australia and China at 40.