ABSTRACT
Introduction Rights-based development is often espoused by the global nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), but it has yet to rise to prominence in the discourse of global trade institutions. While public interest has long been defined by many global institutions as connected to market outcomes
Contents Introduction ...............................................................................................................................61 China and SOEs ....................................................................................................................... 62 China’s Economic Development in Twenty-First Century ......................................................... 64 China’s Labor Laws in Historical Context...................................................................................65 Reforms and Their Impact ......................................................................................................... 66
Labor Contract Law (2007) .................................................................................................. 66 Employment Promotion Law (2008) .....................................................................................67 Labor Disputes Mediation and Arbitration Law (2008) .........................................................67
Generalizability of the Case ....................................................................................................... 68 Implications for the WTO and Global Development Order ...................................................... 69 Notes ........................................................................................................................................ 71 References ................................................................................................................................. 71
as opposed to more principle-based definitions (Berger, 1996), the widening and deepening of certain categories of rights (i.e., labor rights) is conceptualized by neoliberal thinkers as analogous to the competitive advantage that draws multinational corporations (MNCs) to developing countries: low labor costs and less liability to be punished for rights infractions against workers. Despite this general aversion to embrace more substantial labor laws along the path to further economic development evidenced by the discourses and policies of technocratic global institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), developing nations have not always followed suit. In the late 2000s, the Chinese government explicitly linked initiatives aimed at bolstering wages and increasing equality with a vision to further economic development. These initiatives took the form of three important Chinese labor laws introduced in 2007-2008 (namely, the Labor Contract Law, 2007, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Labor-Dispute Mediation and Arbitration, 2007, and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Promotion of Employment, 2007).
