YCW DC | Book talk: Politicizing Business with Ning Leng

Join us for a conversation with Ning Leng about her new book, Politicizing Business: How Firms Are Made to Serve the Party-State in China (2025, Cambridge University Press) which reveals how the Chinese state solicits political services from companies, resulting in an unstable investment environment and unintended development outcomes.

Politicizing Business demonstrates that the politicization of firms is rooted in authoritarianism, often harming business interests and undermining China's efforts to attract and retain investment. Explaining the seemingly arbitrary state takeover of sectors and firms, Leng uncovers previously overlooked forms of politicization and demonstrates how politicizing business often creates conflicts between the state and firms, particularly private firms, leading to a state-dominated market in many sectors.

Speaker bio

Ning Leng is an Assistant Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Her research examines the effects of authoritarianism on state-business relations and development outcomes, including public service provision, infrastructure building, and environmental policy making. Her area of focus is China. Dr. Leng received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was a postdoc at Harvard University's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. For the year of 2025-2026, she is a Wilson China Fellow at the Wilson Center.

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