ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the entrepreneurs’ strategies for protecting their rights vis-a-vis local political elites as well as the processes and mechanisms of their right protection. It aims to not simply question the ‘local growth coalition’ thesis but to explore the ways in which groups of dominant local elites work together and compete with each other in economic development. The chapter examines the case of the ‘Northern Shaanxi Oilfield Event’, which took place in 2003, to illustrate the critical stages and analyses mechanisms in place that turned a close collaborative relationship between the government and local business elites into one of conflict. Conflicts between state organs not only prevented the original disputants from finding a solution but exacerbated the conflicts. Public opinion forced the Shaanxi provincial government to meet at least some of the investors’ demands for compensation on a case-by-case basis.
