Regulatory learning and its discontents in China: Promise and tragedy at the State Food and Drug Administration

Throughout the reform era, China’s reformers have actively considered international practices in domestic reforms. Whereas China’s leaders have far from adopted wholesale Westernization, they have nonetheless become bolder in adopting international practices. The trend toward convergence hit a high note during the administration of Premier Zhu Rongji (1998-2003) with China’s re-accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. Since then, as the results from a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey of public attitudes suggest, China has become a poster child for globalization.2