A study of government-driven regional cooperation in the yangtze river delta region

Since the adoption of economic reform and open-door policy, the city-regions in China have experienced dramatic transformation and reconfiguration. It has witnessed the resurgence of regional cooperation and intergovernmental association in the Yangtze River Delta region. Particularly, the national policy 'developing and opening up of Pudong district' proposed in the early 1990s dramatically sparked local governments' enthusiasm for cooperating with each other. Intergovernmental communication among different levels of local governments has intensified, which fundamentally changed the mode of enterprise-led economic interaction which prevailed in the 1980s. Simultaneously, a myriad of collaborative instruments has been practiced by local government to coordinate relationships among jurisdictions. Currently, the member cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have signed reciprocal or multi-party intergovernmental agreements in multiple fields involving road transport, environmental pollution, energy, and the tourism industry.In the literature, there has been little study on the institutionalization of regional cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta region. The underlying reasons contributing to the trend of institutional cooperation in this region have not been examined systematically. Moreover, there is no study on the factors that underlie the adoption of intergovernmental cooperation agreements. Under this context, this study aims to advance the current understanding of the rationale and mechanisms for regional cooperation driven by governments in contemporary China. It aims to uncover the transformation of regional cooperation driven by governments in the Yangtze River Delta region, explore economic and political determinants influencing the shift of governments' stance on regional cooperation, and decipher governments' behaviour patterns with the analytical lens of intergovernmental cooperation agreements.Specifically, this study attempts to answer the following three related research questions. First, how was the regional cooperation formed in the Yangtze River Delta region? Second, how have internal or external factors contributed to the change in governments' stance on regional cooperation? Third, how have intergovernmental cooperation agreements emerged in this region, and what are the determinants of the adoption of intergovernmental cooperation agreements? Taking the Yangtze River Delta region as the case study, the main findings are as follows:The thesis argues that the process of regional cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta region since the reform in 1978 indicates a switch from spontaneous noninstitutional to institutional cooperation, from economic cooperation driven by enterprise to government-led cooperation, from bottom-up track to dual-track with the involvement of the state apparatus. Along with institutional cooperation, a pattern of top-bottom governance has been taking shape in this region. The decision-making has been centralized on upper-level state apparatus rather than devolved to lower levels.The changing nature of regional cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta region very much demonstrates the interplay between internal and external factors. At the macro level, multiple external and internal economic and political considerations involving global economic force, the policy orientation from central government, the market-oriented reform, the change in provincial- and city-level governments, as well as business associations, political organizations, and the academic community, have influenced the shift of local governments' stance in regional cooperation.As products of spontaneous efforts deliberately crafted by local governments since the 1990s, the intergovernmental cooperation agreements have been widely applied to steer regional cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta region. However, local governments have their own preferences in selecting partners. Factors including socioeconomic characteristics of localities, the participation of policy and sub-region network, and administrative institutions influence local governments' decisions on whom the agreement with.伴隨著改革開放，中國城市和區域經歷了巨大的轉型和重塑。在此背景下，區域合作與府際互動在長江三角洲地區開始復興。尤其是20世紀90年代初提出開放開發浦東的國家戰略，極大地激發了地方政府相互合作的熱情。不同層級的地方政府間的溝通日益加強，從根本上改變了20世紀80年代盛行的企业主導型互動模式。同時，地方政府採用各種合作工具以協調轄區之間的關係。目前，長江三角洲地區的成員政府已經在道路運輸、環境污染、能源、旅遊業等多個領域簽署了雙邊或多邊的府際協議。在現有研究中，有限的研究關注長江三角洲地區的區域合作的制度化的過程，對形成制度化趨勢的深層次原因缺乏系統的考察。同時，學術界還未對影響地方政府選擇簽訂府際協議的因素開展深入研究。基於此，本論文旨在解釋政府驅動下區域合作的演變,探討影響政府在區域合作中立場的經濟和政治因素，並從府際合作協議的視角解讀政府行為模式，以期豐富當代中國政府主導區域合作的理論基礎和機制。具體而言，論文試圖回答以下三個相關研究問題。第一，長江三角洲地區的區域合作是如何形成的？第二，區域合作共識是如何在地方政府間達成的？第三，府際合作協議是如何產生，並受到哪些因素的影響？以長江三角洲地區為例，論文得出以下結論：首先，自1978年改革開放以來，長江三角洲地區的區域合作經歷了從自發的非制度性合作到制度性合作、從企業主導經濟合作到政府主導合作、從自下而上的單軌制到國家機器參與的雙軌制合作的轉變。伴隨著合作制度化的趨勢，長江三角洲地區形成了一種自上而下的管治模式，即決策權集中在上層國家機器，而不是分權到下層政府。其次，長江三角洲地區的區域合作演變的過程是內外部因素的相互作用的結果。在宏觀層面上，全球化、中央政府的政策導向、市場化改革、省和城市政府對區域合作態度的轉變,以及商会、政界和學術界等多重外部和內部經濟、政治因素改變了地方政府在區域合作中立場。再次，作為20世紀90年代以來地方政府自發合作的產物，府際合作協議被廣泛應用於政府主導下的長三角地區合作。然而，地方政府在選擇合作夥伴時存在偏好。地方的社會經濟特徵、是否參與既有的政策網路或是次區域網路、行政體制等因素會影響地方政府的夥伴選擇。Wang, Jue.Ph.D. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2021.Includes bibliographical references (leaves ).Abstracts also in Chinese.Title from PDF title page (viewed on …)