ABSTRACT

Both internal and external factors shape the new social contract between the state and the Chinese citizens. On one side, the central government, with its political agenda, aims at creating wealth through high economic growth but is also taking into account the issue of inequality and redistribution, a new agenda summarized in the call for ‘the building of a harmonious society’. There are also numerous movements of protests happening in rural and urban settings, mobilizing farmers against evictions, workers against delayed wage payments or residents against pollution. On the other side, the rapid internationalization of China also means that external factors are increasingly shaping the relationships between the state and the citizens. It is obvious in the case of the legal system, foreign investments having been one of the main incentives behind the production of new laws and regulations during the last 30 years. Our hypothesis is that it is also the case in the development of a non-profit sector where foreign players have been active for almost 10 years. International NGO programmes in China are a significant part of the story of the country’s growing internationalization and opening up to the world.