Crony Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics

November 2014

Past Event

Crony Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics

Past Event

Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters

November 21, 2014

November 2014

Past Event

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Read Transcript

Speakers:

Minxin Pei

Professor and Director, Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies, Claremont McKenna College

The unprecedented anti-corruption campaign launched by Communist Party Chief Xi Jinping in late 2012 shows, among other things, that a kleptocracy has taken root inside the Chinese state and economy. While the campaign has provided more detailed information on the scope and depth of corruption in China, the origins and characteristics of this new type of kleptocracy remain poorly understood.

Using data collected from more than 100 corruption cases involving multiple party and government officials, Minxin Pei argues this kleptocracy originated two decades ago when elites in the Chinese party-state, private businesses, and organized crime colluded to loot state-owned assets. The effects of such looting and collusion go beyond the illicit enrichment of a small number of elites. Pei contends that they are the underlying forces causing the decay of key institutions in the Chinese party-state.

On November 21st, Hudson Kleptocracy Initiative (KI) hosted a discussion moderated by KI Executive Director Charles Davidson on the sources and implications of China’s kleptocracy.

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Tablet Magazine’s What Really Matters: A Live Episode at Hudson Institute

Featured Speakers:

Walter Russell Mead

Jeremy Stern

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Tablet Magazine’s What Really Matters: A Live Episode at Hudson Institute

Join Hudson Institute and Tablet Magazine for an exclusive live recording of What Really Matters with Walter Russell Mead. Mead, the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship, and his cohost Jeremy Stern, editor in chief of Colossus, will bring their wide-ranging perspectives to help make sense of the news and understand the most consequential developments in American politics and world affairs.

Featured Speakers:

Walter Russell Mead

Jeremy Stern

Learn More

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Inertial Confinement Fusion Bolsters Strategic Deterrence

Featured Speakers:

Mark Herrmann

Keith LeChien

Rebeccah L. Heinrichs

Madelyn Creedon

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Inertial Confinement Fusion Bolsters Strategic Deterrence

Join Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative for a discussion of Inertial Confinement Fusion Is Key to America’s Nuclear Deterrent, a new memo authored by Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs and Former Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration Madelyn Creedon.

Featured Speakers:

Mark Herrmann

Keith LeChien

Rebeccah L. Heinrichs

Madelyn Creedon

Learn More

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Ending Self-Imposed Scarcity: Expanding Defense Production with New Technology and Techniques

Featured Speakers:

Jeff Frankston

Andy Magliochetti

Rolf Ziesing

Bryan Clark

Nadia Schadlow

Jai Malik

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Ending Self-Imposed Scarcity: Expanding Defense Production with New Technology and Techniques

Join Hudson Institute for a discussion of how the DoW and industry are changing defense manufacturing for twenty-first century deterrence and combat.

Featured Speakers:

Jeff Frankston

Andy Magliochetti

Rolf Ziesing

Bryan Clark

Nadia Schadlow

Jai Malik

Learn More

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

A Conversation with Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Featured Speakers:

Alain Berset

Peter Rough

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

A Conversation with Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Please join Secretary General Alain Berset as he explains the Council of Europe’s role today and its plans for the future. After his remarks, Secretary General Berset will sit down with Senior Fellow Peter Rough for a fireside chat.