ABSTRACT
In recent years, a considerable number of studies in the field of Chinese studies have descended below the national level to focus on the regional or provincial level and the interplay of central-local relations. Provinces in China equal the size of large European countries and they are important economic and political units. They have government structures and party set up that, although linked to the national polity, have considerable autonomy. Provinces also conduct their own foreign economic relations in order to develop their export sector and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Some of the southern provinces are host to Special Economic Zones (SEZs), designed to attract foreign technology and FDI. In recent years, a wealth of material, including provincial yearbooks and provincial statistical yearbooks, has become available, facilitating sub-national research.1 As a result, a number of important studies on the provinces and the interplay of central-local relations have emerged.2 Although there has been a revival of interest in taking the province as a unit of research, a full-scale study of Hainan has not yet been attempted.3
