China's Regulatory System: institutional architecture, tools, and challenges of the current stage

Olga Sushko

doi:10.34755/IROK.2026.19.67.038

UDC

338.1

CHINA'S REGULATORY SYSTEM: INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE, TOOLS, AND CHALLENGES OF THE CURRENT STAGE China's Regulatory System: institutional architecture, tools, and challenges of the current stage

АА Аа

Published in Journal of Applied Research · ELocator: 278-286 · Rubric: ECONOMICS. ECONOMIC SCIENCES.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34755/IROK.2026.19.67.038

Received: 10.08.2026 Accepted: 12.08.2026 Published: 12.08.2026

Authors

Olga Sushko

Academic degree: candidate of economic sciences

Science rang: docent ; docent

Plekhanov Russian University of Economics professor

ABSTRACT

China's regulatory policy remains one of the most controversial topics in comparative political economy. The article offers a systematic analysis of this system according to nine criteria: regulatory model, degree of centralization, institutional structure, set of tools, business burden, digital maturity, sectoral features, efficiency and current trends. The empirical basis consists of official documents, five-year plans, industry reports and expert assessments. The Chinese model is usually defined as state capitalism, but it is evolving from the simple dominance of state-owned companies to a more complex system where private business is embedded in party-state priorities through mechanisms of mixed ownership and social credit. Management remains tightly centralized, although individual pilot projects allow for local variations. The key institutions are the State Council, the NBK, and especially the State Committee for Development and Reforms (NDRC), which combines the functions of planning, pricing, and investment control. The toolkit includes five-year plans, government orders, quotas, and indicative prices, with state-owned banks acting as the main channel for financing priority industries. The regulatory burden on entrepreneurs remains high, but the government is trying to mitigate it through negative lists and special bureaus to support the private sector. The digitalization of regulation has reached a high level - the social credit system and unified registers accumulate billions of records, but their legal transparency raises questions. The economic results are impressive: growth, technological modernization, and infrastructure scaling. Legal effectiveness is low due to unclear procedures and weak judicial protection. In the coming years, the main challenges will be the transition to an innovative model, further securitization of the economy, and attempts to combine deregulation with new mandatory requirements. As a result, the Chinese regulatory system is a controversial but adaptive hybrid whose evolution will influence the global rules of the game.

KEYWORDS

China, government regulation, state capitalism, five-year plans, social credit, NDRC, digitalization of regulation

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Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Ol'ga Shatalova

Chief Editor

Raiganat Babaeva

GOST

Sushko O. P. China's Regulatory System: institutional architecture, tools, and challenges of the current stage // . 2026. 278-286. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34755/IROK.2026.19.67.038. (Date of access 19.08.2026).

MLA

Olga Sushko. "China's Regulatory System: institutional architecture, tools, and challenges of the current stage." (2026): 278-286. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34755/IROK.2026.19.67.038.

APA

Sushko O. P. (2026). China's Regulatory System: institutional architecture, tools, and challenges of the current stage. , 278-286. https://doi.org/10.34755/IROK.2026.19.67.038

Chicago

Olga Sushko. "China's Regulatory System: institutional architecture, tools, and challenges of the current stage." , no. (2026): 278-286. https://doi.org/10.34755/IROK.2026.19.67.038.

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Sushko O. P. | title = China's Regulatory System: institutional architecture, tools, and challenges of the current stage | journal = | year = 2026 | pages = 278-286 | doi = 10.34755/IROK.2026.19.67.038 }}

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CHINA'S REGULATORY SYSTEM: INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE, TOOLS, AND CHALLENGES OF THE CURRENT STAGE China's Regulatory System: institutional architecture, tools, and challenges of the current stage

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