Bedfellows with Different Dreams: The Relationship between the Party-State and Private Businessmen in the Party Member Recruitment Process in Beijings Zhejiangcun (浙江村 Zhejiang Village)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the Party-state and private businessmen centering on the Party member recruitment process at the Party organization established by Zhejiangcuns Wenzhou migrant private businessmen. This analysis revealed that private businessmen Party members at the grassroots level have been conducting Party member recruitment in a way that maximizes their personal interests but falls within the guidelines set out by the CCPs Central Committee, including the high political standards for Party members emphasized in the recent Xi Jinping era. By illustrating the dynamics surrounding the Party member recruitment process for private businessmen based on internal Party documents and interviews with Party officials, this study provides a novel insight into an aspect that has so far resisted analysis due to the limited availability of information and presents a unique case for understanding the dynamics between the Party-state and private entrepreneurs.