Abstract
Much attention has been paid world-wide to the advancement of policy with regard to public–private partnerships (PPPs). Though PPPs continue to play a major role in the development of China’s national economy, capital projects and infrastructure upgrade, little work has been done to understand the evolution of Chinese governmental policy with regard to PPPs. This paper addresses this lack and sets out the trajectory of Chinese PPP policy maturation over the period of 1986 to 2018. Policy documents were retrieved from official government websites, such as the Ministry of Finance and National Development and Reform Commission, with some 205 policy statements deemed relevant to PPPs. These were then classified by type and submitted to regression analysis. Five major instruments in support of PPPs were identified, including fiscal, financial, taxation, land and operations support. Moreover, four historical policy phases can be identified in the Chinese PPP market, including ‘try’, ‘explore’, ‘expand’ and ‘consolidate’. While governmental policy may now be considered sophisticated, deficiencies remain, including insufficient policy coordination between departments, lack of financial incentives and poor transparency and disclosure supervision. These observations will inform policy makers as they look to continue advancement of PPP policy measures, and help practitioners in assessing the pitfalls of operating in the Chinese PPP market.
Highlights
Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have been discussed in several academic articles, and many researchers and practitioners define PPP in various concepts [1,2,3]
In the elapsed 30 plus years, PPP has continued to play a positive role in raising the standard of infrastructure in China, with four distinct phases in the evolution of Chinese PPP policy evident: ‘try’, ‘explore’, ‘expand’, and ‘consolidate’
All the measures other than GSMLS were adopted, and all types were applied in policies over this expansion period
Summary
Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have been discussed in several academic articles, and many researchers and practitioners define PPP in various concepts [1,2,3]. In China, partnerships identified as PPP are generally defined as a ‘long-term cooperation’ between government at all levels and of social capital [4,5]. PPP is delivered in various forms, providing public facilities or services is the core of China’s PPP. PPP is defined in the present study as ‘a long-term cooperation between government and social capital, for providing public assets or services, in which both sides share risks and benefits.’. PPP has been widely applied in infrastructure development in developed and developing countries [8]. In the U.K. and Australia, the government encourages PPP as a delivery form of infrastructure. PPP is popular and has been utilised widely for the development of infrastructure projects in many developing countries because of the strained financial situation [11]. In China, a total of 4815 projects have been managed, with an investment of ¥7.3 trillion by the end of 31 January 2019 [12]
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