ABSTRACT
Since Chinese provinces are larger than most countries and have their own regional property, their influence on the national economy is significant. Granted legislative power and located in the middle of both the hierarchical and horizontal relationships, the Provincial People’s Congresses (PPCs1) provide a good opportunity to explore the legislative-executive and centrallocal relationships which may increase or decrease the state capacity and national integration, and to learn about the impact of the economic development upon political institutions. It is also important to determine whether the developments of PPCs assist the process of economic transformation, and to assess how the institutional arrangements and functions of PPCs have served the East Asian developmental state model.
