Paradiplomacy as a Provincial State-Building Project: The Case of Yunnan’s Relations With the Greater Mekong Subregion

Abstract

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Chinese Paradiplomacy: A Theoretical Review

“…Su, 2013X. Su, , 2015Tubilewicz, 2016), the number of these works is still eclipsed by the literature on Chinese coastal provinces. However, it cannot be denied that, since the early 1990s, Chinese border provinces have been authorized with greater external power by the central government and become more active in the projection of their power overseas.…”

Beyond the hinterland: exploring the international actorness of China’s Yunnan province

“…Another is that the opening up of coastal regions would have made it easier for researchers, in term of data accessibility. In recent years, despite the publication of a number of paradiplomacy works with a focus on 'non-traditional' provincial entities in China, situated at a distance from the well-researched rich coast (Clarke 2003;Mackerras and Clarke 2009;Mackerras 2015;Colin 2014;Su 2015Su , 2016Tubilewicz 2016), the number of these works is still eclipsed by the literature on Chinese coastal provinces. However, it cannot be denied that, since the early 1990s, Chinese border provinces have been authorized with greater external power by the central government and become more active in cross-border cooperation.…”

“…Just as Beijing used the AIIB to fund its own projects in the subregion, instead of channelling money into the Japanese-steered ADB, so it seeks to maximize its geographical advantage over these outside powers: a long land border between Yunnan and the Mekong subregion. Specifically, Yunnan shares a 4,060-kilometrelong border with Myanmar to the west and Laos and Vietnam to the south, also connected to Thailand and Cambodia via the Mekong River (Tubilewicz 2016). Besides, Yunnan has a population of 43 million (He and Sheng 2005: 295), with fifteen ethnic minorities straddling across the border (Chen, Jian, and Chen 2010: 338).…”

“…Co-supervised by the Yunnan provincial government and the Ministry of National Security (MONS), the provincial NSD has been responsible for monitoring the activities carried out by foreigners and foreign organizations within Yunnan (Li 2017).Although not formally stipulated, such 'dual leadership' can be found between the Ministry of Commerce and the provincial DOC, and between the NDRC and the provincial DRC(Chen, Jian and Chen 2010). Moreover, in order for the central government to ensure its Mekong policy is well executed in Yunnan, the Governor of Yunnan has been included as a deputy group head in the State Council-steered Lancang-Mekong Regional Development Preliminary Research and Cooperation Group(Tubilewicz 2016). This group also involved all relevant ministries, such the NDRC, the MOFA, and the MOF(Xiong and Wen 2009).Furthermore, given that almost all provincial departments and local governments have their external interests to pursue, the provincial government has built up a number of superagencies to coordinate their own external activities, and to ensure that national and provincial policies are appropriately conducted.…”

The BRICS, Energy Security, and Global Energy Governance

“…This is starting to be visible in the areas of energy and environmental governance, as evidenced by Setzer's work on Sao Paulo in Brazil in environmental governance [Setzer, 2014] and Fraundorfer's research on China's cities and climate governance [Fraundorfer, 2017]. Hameiri and Jones [2016] and Tubilewicz [2017] have also shed light on the internationalization of China's provinces. Yunnan Province and the Greater Mekong Sub-Region.…”