ABSTRACT
In parallel to the controversies about multiple modernities, scholars have been debating the varieties of capitalist order that characterize a modern economy. The debate over the varieties of capitalism has major implications for our understanding of modernity. This is because capitalism is closely related to modernity. Despite the proliferation of debate and discussion on varieties of capitalism, the core of the debate remains firmly focused on the experiences of Western countries. Most of Asia, with the exception of Japan, has been ignored in this debate. But if China is a capitalist economy, it exemplifies a kind of capitalism that is not familiar to the West. China's capitalist system distinguishes itself from Western counterparts in at least five fundamental areas: its economic players, ownership structure, state–market relations, rules of exchange, and nature of competition. If China presents a critical challenge to existing categories and conceptions, the addition of experiences from other Asian countries will open even more windows for alternative theorization.
