WILLIAM HU: Entrepreneurs under China’s Social Credit System [ECR]

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Manchester China Institute

In this ECR Workshop, William Zhengdong Hu will discuss the fate of entrepreneurs under China’s social credit system.

This talk is based on an empirical research paper I have written for the Sociological Review, where I examine the tragic fate of Chinese entrepreneurs, especially the Small and Medium-size Enterprise (SME) Owners, under the rigorous enforcement of China’s Social Credit System (SCS). I first delve into the inner workings of the SCS’s national component – which has publicly penalized and stigmatized over 8 million Chinese citizens in just the last year (Financial Times, 2023). Focusing on the city of Ningbo, a cradle of entrepreneurship in China, and drawing data from publicized local government reports and 38 detailed interviews, I then illustrate how SME owners, shaped by Confucian culture and Deng Xiaoping’s pragmatist spirit, persist in operating their businesses through bank loans under increasingly difficult circumstances. These include restrictive bank loan conditions, escalating labor costs, and a declining business environment – particularly exacerbated by the country’s nationwide zero-COVID lockdown measures. Finally, I discuss how being blacklisted for failing to repay bank debts has severely impacted their business activities, social and business reputation, and the wellbeing of their families and themselves, thereby worsening the business climate by stripping capable entrepreneurs of the means to repay their debts.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERWilliam Zhengdong Hu 胡正栋 recently completed his PhD in Sociology at the University of Warwick, UK. For 2023–24. He serves as The Sociological Review postdoctoral research fellow at Keele University. He is currently converting his PhD thesis into a monograph titled To Live: The Fate of the SME Deadbeats in China’s Social Credit System; His latest publication is ‘Understanding the Power of China’s National Social Credit System: A Structural/Mechanism Explanation’

NotesMCI’s ECR Workshops are lunchtime seminars held in person at the <a href="https://www.mci.manchester.ac.uk/" title="https://www.mci.manchester.ac.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Manchester China Institute</a>. They seek to bring together students, faculty, and staff who can best provide feedback as Early Career Researchers develop their ideas. Free lunch will be provided.

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WILLIAM HU: Entrepreneurs under China’s Social Credit System [ECR]

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WILLIAM HU: Entrepreneurs under China’s Social Credit System [ECR]

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