From 1998 to 2018, China had three political-economic crises, resulting in bureaucratic paralysis. It was at such junctures that China's leadership launched initiatives, like the Western Development Program, that mobilized state and market actors to expedite globalization and revive economic growth. In The Belt Road and Beyond, Min Ye reevaluates the common tendency to attribute China's Belt and Road to individual leaders' strategic ambitions, using state-mobilized globalization as a comparative framework and investigative tool to understand Chinese capitalism. State-mobilized globalization has helped sustain China's high-growth economy and social-political stability, while also sparking some political backlash. In order to succeed in globalization, the author argues, China's state mobilization must readapt to global circumstances. She sheds light on the tactics China used to spring from a crisis-stricken middle economy to a formidable global power, implicating not only China, but also the world.

‘This excellent book shows in detail how China's domestic politics, especially the government's need to respond to economic crisis, have been a major motivation for China's overseas economic activities over many years. The Belt Road and Beyond  will serve as a major guide to understanding China's Belt and Road Initiative.'

Margaret M. Pearson - University of Maryland

‘The Belt Road and Beyond studies one of the most important topics scholars have been fascinated with in recent years: the Chinese government's strategy to respond to globalization and exploit the international system to advance its national interests. Drawing on extensive interviews and case studies, Professor Ye provides a conceptual framework … on how this strategy works on the ground. The answers arrived have important implications for China and the world. This book is a notable contribution to our understanding of China's recent development.'

Yuhua Wang - Harvard University, Massachusetts

‘This is an outstanding new volume. China's global economic expansion demands understanding … A result of meticulous research, The Belt Road and Beyond will be valuable not only for those interested in China but also for scholars of comparative and international political economy.'

Atul Kohli - Princeton University, New Jersey

‘Min Ye's book shines light on China's most important recent ‘foreign' policies, showing they became domestic policies too. She makes new contributions to political science – both comparative politics and international relations.'

Lynn White - Princeton University, New Jersey

‘The major academic assets of the book consist in the holistic pattern it establishes to explore China’s behaviors of political economy in both domestic and international arenas in the post-Mao period. Additionally, the empirical data provided in the three cases are also helpful for scholars to conduct further research. Potential readers of the book include scholars and students interested in contemporary China studies, especially the political economy and policy mechanism of the authoritarian regime and the history of Chinese reforms and globalization.’

Xiaoguang Wang Source: Eurasian Geography and Economics

‘Prof. Min Ye’s book offers a different perspective of the BRI. In this well-constructed book Min Ye shares with us the methodology she has adopted and the obstacles she also has met in some cities. The Belt Road and Beyond: State-Mobilized Globalization in China, 1998-2018 prioritizes academics and students who are eager to study the mechanism of development strategies in China.’

Sebastien Goulard Source: OBOReurope