Like a Picasso's Painting: China's Center-Border Relations on Yanbian's Opening-up toward Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Abstract: In 2009, the Chinese State Council approved a regional development plan for Jilin province in the northeast. Within the scheme, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture was designated as a pioneer zone for “opening-up” by enhancing transport infrastructures and alluring trade and investment from overseas. In 2011, China and DPRK agreed to jointly develop the Rason Special Economic and Trade Zone in DPRK, and China was granted with the right to use Rajin port in Rason. The author of this thesis employed the State-in-society model to disaggregate Chinese actors in the “opening-up” and explored how these actors collaborate, compete, and co-opt each other. At different administrative levels, some engage in mutually cooperative relations whereas others compete for dominance. Overall, the central government has achieved integrated domination among the actors engaged in the opening-up efforts under the Changjitu. When deliberating local development, the Chinese system of decentralized governance also works in Yanbian. However, because of the Changjitu’s foreign policy and ethnic implications, the center still retains an exclusive authority to tighten its grip on the border. Yet, multidirectional political influence at the sub-national level as well as complementary role of non-state actors counters to the state-centric model and proves the effectiveness of Migdal’s model.