Introducing CES: A research team on Chinese Elite Studies

Researchers & Affiliations:

The team is co-chaired by Peng LU from the Institute of Sociology of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Xiaoguang FAN from the Department of Sociology of Zhejiang University (ZJU). The team also conducts various collaborative researches with scholars from other institutions in China and abroad. The team has three characteristics: (1) With data and research topics as the link, it gathers interdisciplinary scholars for collaborative research, including scholars from sociology, economics, political science, management science, communication, computational science, and other disciplines; (2) Advocate the new methodological paradigm combined by both induction and deduction. In recent years, it has tried to introduce methods of computational social science to study Chinese elites; (3) It adheres to the concept of “sociological intervention”, especially emphasizing impact on the real world. It has made notable practical influence in government decision-making, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and family inheritance.

Websites:

Team website: https://baiji.org.cn/ (In Chinese)

Personal websites: Peng LU https://peng.baiji.org.cn/ (In both English and Chinese)

Xiaoguang FAN https://person.zju.edu.cn/en/steve (In English)

Coordinator:Songqin HUANG (Anhui University) http://sba.ahu.edu.cn/2021/1009/c15896a271013/page.htm

Data sources:

China Private Enterprise Survey (CPES): This is China’s most influential national survey data for economic elites in the private sector (private entrepreneurs). The survey is conducted by members from five authoritative institutions in China, including the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Members of our research team are responsible for designing the questionnaire, writing reports, and daily management of this dataset. The survey has been conducted every two years since 1993, and the latest wave ended in December 2020. Part of the data (1993-2016) can be downloaded through an on-line application system to scholars at home and abroad (https://cpes.zkey.cc/index.jsp ). According to incomplete statistics, as of February 10, 2020, 191 papers in Chinese and 77 papers in English have been published. For a detailed introduction of the data, please refer to (Chen et al., 2019; Chen & Lu, 2019). This database’s project assistants are Jinlong LIU (University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, liujinlong@ucass.edu.cn) and Linghao LI (University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, lilinghao@ucass.edu.cn).

China’s Super Rich Persons (CSRP): This project was motivated by a transnational comparative study on super elites in transitional economies chaired by Ivan Szelenyi. Peng LU and Xiaoguang FAN, cooperated with Kezhou Xiao, Donglin Han, and other scholars, initiated the Chinese project. Through basic information about the figures on the Hurun China Rich List, we have established the “China’s Super Rich Persons”. The Hurun China Rich List is the annual list of the wealthiest corporate elites in China. Our purpose is not to test the rich list’s credibility; on the contrary, the rich list only provides an index or “census”. We collect the personal and family information of these “visibly richest Chinese private entrepreneurs” through public channels. The current data version is updated to 2020, with a total of 443 wealthiest Chinese private entrepreneurs. For a detailed introduction of the data, please refer to https://peng.baiji.org.cn/?p=778 . For the discovery based on an early version of the data, please refer to (Lu, 2017).This database’s project assistant is Fan FU (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences – Shanghai Research Institute of Shanghai Government, fufan@shu.edu.cn).

Relying on the two sets of “flagship data”, CPES and CSRP, the research team has produced many scholarly works over the years, becoming one of the most representative research groups in the field of Chinese economic elite.

The research team also uses other databases, such as Chinese Social Survey (CSS), a large-scale national sample survey database hosted by the Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Employing national sampling data, the team  compares elites with non-elites (Lu & Fan, 2016), and studies issues like wealth inequality (Fan & Lu, 2018a). The team also uses its investigation platform to conduct timely surveys. For example, a month after the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 Spring, it collected the responses (Huang, Lu, & Fan, 2020) and donation situation (Li, Liu, & Lu, 2020) of 4,000 entrepreneurs to the epidemic across the country. The team also acquired several big data through cooperation, crawling, matching, and other methods (Lu et al., 2020).

At the same time, Peng LU serves as the vice-chairman of one of China’s most influential young entrepreneur’s association (“Inheritor-Creator Alliance”) and a member of the Think Tank Committee of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Therefore, the team has unique advantages in conducting qualitative research in China. It has published papers on the collective movements of the entrepreneurs (Lu, 2018a; Lu, 2018b), cultural production and social reproduction (Mei & Lu, 2019), corporate foundations and corporate social innovation (Lu & Fang, 2020), and other topics. In recent years, the team has begun to study entrepreneurs of technology gaints, mainly Internet platform companies (Lu, 2021), The team also has enduring interest in Chinese business elites who invested in “The Belt and Road Initiatives” countries, especially in Africa, the Middle East, Russia, and the Central-Eastern Europe.

Key methodological and analytical approach:

The team’s analytical approach is mainly influenced by three theoretical schools. (1) Mills and the Millsism. Peng LU is one of the scholars who pushed a new Chinese version of Power Elite and made a systematic elaboration on Mills’s elite theory in Chinese (Lu, 2006). He also translated Domhoff’s Who Ruled America and systematically combed the theoretical traditions of various elite studies (Lu & Fu, 2020). (2) Bourdieuism. Although the team adopted the Goldthorpe’s class scheme in some studies on social stratification and mobility, the “relational” thinking of Bourdieuism still runs through many studies, especially in qualitative studies (Lu, 2003; Lu, 2015). (3) Deeply influenced by Ivan Szelenyi’s “Neoclassical Sociology” and Liping SUN’s “sociology of practice of market-transition process” (Lu, 2012a; Lu, 2012b; Lu, 2012c), the team has a strong interest in elite research in countries such as Russia and the Central-Eastern Europe. And the thinking of comparative study of “various of capitalisms” runs through many studies (Lu, 2009).

List of selected publications in English:

Most of the team’s publications are in Chinese. The main English publication includes:

Chen, G., Lu, P., Lin, Z., & Song, N. (2019). Introducing Chinese private enterprise survey: Points and prospects. Nankai Business Review International, 10(4).

Fan, X., & Lu, P. (2019). The social composition of China’s private entrepreneurs: Class and cohort differences. Social Sciences in China, 40(1).

Ji, Y., & Fan, X. (2019). Do deep pockets have more political influence? The size of private enterprises and their strategy selection in resolving administrative disputes. Journal of Chinese Sociology, 6(2).

Lu, P. (2012). The end of post-communism? The beginning of a super-communism? China’s new perspective. Polish Sociological Review, 179(3).

Lu, P. (2014). Wealthy-gentry politics: How are capitalists in China chosen for the “houses”?. Australian Journal of Political Science, 49(2).

Lu, P. (2015). China’s top leading cadres: More red, expert, or gold?”, In, Y. Guo (Eds). Handbook of Class and Stratification in China, London: Elgar, pp.423-454.

Lu, P. (2017). The horatio alger myth in China: Origins of the first generation of visibly richest Chinese private entrepreneurs. China: An International Journal, 15(2).

Lu, P. (2018). A study of Chinese elite university students and graduates. In D. Tom, M. Gorshkov, I. Modi, C. Li, & M. Mapadimeng (Eds). Handbook of the sociology of youth in BRICS countries, London: World Scientific, pp.589-606.

Lu, P. (2018). How a local growth coalition collapsed: A case study of an anti-confiscation movement of private oil investors in a northwestern Chinese county. In Y. Guo (Eds.), Local Elites in Post-Mao China. London: Routledge.

Lu, P., & Fan, X. (2019). Survey and analysis report on the online behaviors of China’s private entrepreneurs 2015. In P. Li, G. Chen, & Y. Zhang (Eds). Chinese Research Perspectives in Society Vol (5), London: Brill, pp.395-414.

Lu, P., Fan, X., Fu, F. (2021). “Profile of the Super Rich in China: A Social Space Analysis”, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol 72, No. 3, pp. 543-565.

Lu, P., and Fan, X.(2021). “Cadre parents and their entrepreneur children? The dual-track intergenerational reproduction of elites in China: 1978–2010”, The Journal of Chinese Sociology, Vol 8, No. 17, pp. 1-19.

Research highlights:

The team studies China’s elite , especially the economic elites in private sector (private entrepreneurs). However, the purpose of focusing on the elite is not limited to understanding the elite, since the judgment of elite formation is directly related to the judgment of the nature of China’s social structure and the foundation of China’s future. The team focuses on three aspects of Chinese elite groups: social composition, social attitudes, and collective action.

Social composition

After more than forty years of transition to market economy, the overall composition of private entrepreneurs in China has been undergoing significant changes. The group contains a growing proportion of people who have none-state working experience,, higher education and none-political party affilications. We find significant differences in their occupational mobility trajectories in large, medium, and small enterprises. In particular, grande entrepreneurs are more likely from those who worked inside the state system, while most small and medium entrepreneurs grow from the bottom, working outside the state system (Fan & Lu, 2019). We also pay attention to the new “startup” generation of Chinese private entrepreneurs. We find that the growing marketisation has declined the threshold for creating business the private sector, and the social origins of startup entrepreneurs has diversified. Yet the increasing number of companies has led to more fierce market competition. Both entrepreneurs with more political connections and “market-based” entrepreneurs have significant advantages and continue to expand (Zhu & Lu, 2020).

The wealthiest private entrepreneurs are not predominantly composed of former officials as the “political capitalism” theory implies. Most of the people who “jumped into business” within the system are middle and low-level officials or professional technical personnel. The theory of “interrupted embourgeoisement” was partially supported, and the family background and overseas ties of merchants before the founding of People’s Republic of China played an important role in making the super rich. However, more than half of the rich born in middle and low-level families. Besides, college education plays a significant role in the entrepreneurial department in the field of science and engineering, and it is also a ticket to the public sector (Lu, 2017). Our latest working paper uses the MCA method to visualise China’s super-rich’s internal differences and clusters. It emphasizes the importance of cultural capital and political capital in distinguishing elite groups (Lu, Fan, & Fu, 2021).

On the state elite and market elite’s mobility trajectory, we summarize it as “the dual-track intergenerational reproduction of elites”. This expression has two meanings: First is the reproduction of elite status. Both the state elite and the market elite are more likely to pass on their advantages to their offspring. Second, the inheritance of the superior status does not show an apparent “cross-border effect”. That is to say, the intergenerational mobility of state elites and market elites still follows two separate trajectories (Lu & Fan, 2021).

This “separation” also exists in multi-generational mobility. We test the multi-generational mobility effect of the three-generation occupational status of private entrepreneurs. When the first generation’s occupational status is different, the status transmission of the first generation to the third generation may also show a different pattern. We name this kind of multi-generational mobility pattern (grandparent -position-specific mobility) as a divergence model. We find that China’s private entrepreneurs do have some direct effects of the first generation on the third generation. In particular, families with the first generation of elites outside the state system have more obvious advantages in intergenerational career transmission (Lu & Fan, 2020).

Social attitudes

We found that while the economic status of private entrepreneurs in China continues to increase, the level of their subjective status has, in a certain period, declined. Unlike dominant approach from relative social status in the existing literature, we reveal two additional firm-level mechanisms that the institutionalized political connection and the government expropriation through informal expenditures to local government officials have statistically significant links with economic status and subjective status. We term the irony of shrinking subjective status coupled with rising economic power the Gatsby dilemma to reflect a similar historical moment when the nouveaux riches of the 1920s United States could not fit into the existing establishment (Fan & Lu, 2018b).

Confidence of Chinese private entrepreneurs is also tracked for years. Although political connection has the effect of strengthening their political identification and enhancing their confidence on China’s reform(Sun & Lu, 2019), Chinese private entrepreneurs still show a strong sense of crisis in various market indicators. By analysing the moderating effects of political gain and market gain, we found that the business environment’s improvement and the “state media preference” has a significant positive effect on enhancing entrepreneurs’ market confidence (Lu & Liu, 2020). The research team is currently conducting more in-depth studies of Chinese private entrepreneurs’ political attitudes.

Collective action

Choosing private entrepreneurs to be members of the Congress or political consultative conference is one of the most important mechanisms for state corporatism in China. We coin the term “wealthy-gentry politics” to conceptualize the fact that behaving as a member of the socially responsible “gentry” is playing an increasingly significant role for being such a representative, while economic wealth is just a threshold (Lu, 2014). We also find that apart from joining those political cooperative institutions, hiring former government officials is also an important way for private entrepreneurs to establish political bonds (Lu, 2008). But even hiring former government officials is not entirely a linear act of superposition of political advantages (Zhang & Lu, 2019).

On-line behavior is also studied. Our research shows that regarding the emerging strategy of “internet plus”, the use intensity among younger-generation entrepreneurs is higher than the use intensity among older-generation entrepreneurs. However, regarding the mature “internet plus”, there is no significant difference between different generations of entrepreneurs (Liu, Liu, & Lu, 2019). Besides, for entrepreneurs’ resolution disputing (Ji & Fan, 2019; Lu, 2019) and industry associations joining (Zhang & Lu, 2019), we have carried out corresponding research and will continue to pay attention.

REFERENCES

Chen, G., Lu, P., Lin, Z., & Song, N. (2019). Introducing Chinese private enterprise survey: Points and prospects. Nankai Business Review International, 10(4).

Chen, G., & Lu, P. (2019). Reports of Chinese private enterprise: from high-speed growth to high-quality development. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press (China).

Fan, X., & Lu, P. (2018a). Bring intergeneration perspective back in: Housing inequality in metropolis of China. Wuhan University Journal (Philosophy & Social Science), 71(6).

Fan, X., & Lu, P. (2018b). The Gatsby dilemma of Chinese private entrepreneurs: Formation and changes of status identity. Sociological Studies, 33(6).

Fan, X., & Lu, P. (2019). The social composition of China’s private entrepreneurs: Class and cohort differences. Social Sciences in China, 40(1).

Huang, S., Lu, P., & Fan, X. (2020). How does the epidemic affect corporate development expectations? ——Empirical research based on pressure transmission mechanism. Public Finance Research, (4).

Ji, Y., & Fan, X. (2019). Do deep pockets have more political influence? The size of private enterprises and their strategy selection in resolving administrative disputes. Journal of Chinese Sociology, 6(2).

Li, L., Liu, J., & Lu, P. (2020). Intensity and orientation: Portraits of top 500 private enterprise’ donation in fighting the epidemic. China Industry and Commerce, (5).

Liu, X., Liu, J., & Lu, P. (2019). Will younger-generation entrepreneurs embrace internet more? Youth Studies, (4).

Lu, P. (2003). Interaction and game among government, enterprises and farmers in agricultural industrialization. Economic Review Journal, (8).

Lu, P. (2006). Fifty years of “power elite”: Origin, controversy and starting again, On the Chinese narrative of “power elite”. Open Times, (3).

Lu, P. (2008). Top Chinese managers in foreign enterprises: A new social class far from politics? An investigation of top Chinese managers in foreign enterprises of top world 500 in Beijing. The Journal of Jiangsu Administration Institute, (4).

Lu, P. (2009). Where do the rich come from? A comparison of the rich lists of China, Russia and Hungary, Southern Weekly.

Lu, P. (2012a). The end of postcommunism? The beginning of a supercommunism? China’s new perspective. Polish Sociological Review, 179(3).

Lu, P. (2012b). The ambition and myth of neo-classical sociology: A critical review from the perspective of comparison on multiple transition consequences. Sociological Studies, 27(2).

Lu, P. (2012c). Diverse paths of “post-communism” studies—Perspective through East Asian instance. Russian Studies, (1).

Lu, P. (2013). An empirical analysis on the impact factors of being representatives in the People’s Congress and People’s Political Consultative Conference for private entrepreneurs. Sociological Studies, 28(4).

Lu, P. (2014). Wealthy-gentry politics: How are capitalists in China chosen for the “houses”? Australian Journal of Political Science, 49(2).

Lu, P. (2015). Analyzing the “field – practice” path of market regime evolution. Academia Bimestrie, (6).

Lu, P. (2017). The Horatio Alger myth in China: Origins of the first generation of visibly richest Chinese private entrepreneurs. China: An International Journal, 15(2).

Lu, P. (2018a). How a local growth coalition collapsed: A case study of an anti-confiscation movement of private oil investors in a northwestern Chinese county. In Y. Guo (Ed.) Local Elites in Post-Mao China. London: Routledge.

Lu, P. (2018b). Growth coalition and the dilemma of consideration for market restructure: A case study of truculence in a provincial private oil market in China. Journal of Social Development, 5(4).

Lu, P. (2019). Transformation of intimate relationship: The birth, break, and revision of a local growth coalition. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press (China).

Lu, P. (2021). Use science and technology to “fight the epidemic” and modernization of national governance capabilities. Journal of the Central Institute of Socialism, (1).

Lu, P., Fan, X., Fu, F. (2021). “Profile of the Super Rich in China: A Social Space Analysis”, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol 72, No. 3, pp. 543-565.

Lu, P., Fu, W., Liu, X., Jiao, C., Huang, S., Fu, F., & Zhu, M. (2020). Evaluation report on target poverty alleviation action of “Ten Thousand Enterprises Helping Ten Thousand Villages”. In P. Li, G. Chen & C. Wang (Eds.), Society of China analysis and forecast (2021). Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press (China).

Lu, P., and Fan, X.(2021). “Cadre parents and their entrepreneur children? The dual-track intergenerational reproduction of elites in China: 1978–2010”, The Journal of Chinese Sociology, Vol 8, No. 17, pp. 1-19.

Lu, P., & Fan, X. (2020). The divergence model: Multi-generational mobility of private entrepreneurs in China. Sociological Studies, 35(5).

Lu, P., & Fang, L. (Eds.) (2020). In search of humpback whales: How Chinese companies make social innovations, Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press (China).

Lu, P., & Fu, F. (2020). Revival and renewal of critical sociology of elite. Jianghai Academic Journal, (1).

Lu, P., & Liu, X. (2020). How to improve market confidence: The effects of entrepreneur’s ability and satisfaction of business environment. Sociological Review of China, 8(5).

Mei, X., & Lu, P. (2019). From capital accumulation to cultural production. Youth Studies, (1).

Sun, M., & Lu, P. (2019). Political cooptation and private-sector entrepreneurs’ confidence in China’s economic reform: An empirical study based on the intermediary effect model and IV regression. Comparative Economic & Social Systems, (4).

Zhang, H., & Lu, P. (2019). Participation in collective action or accessibility to resources: motives of private enterprises in joining business association. Journal of Southeast University (Philosophy and Social Science), 21(3).

Zhu, B., & Lu, P. (2020). The growing path and mechanism of Chinese private enterprises. Social Sciences in China, (4).