China
- introductionA "known unknown"
The sheer scale of the discourse surrounding China's rise combined with the
flurry of
strategy papers released over the past few years - in sectors
as diverse as toy
manufacture and military planning - reveals the gravity of
China's role in the
21st
century. In this context, China's energy profile serves as
"a
window
on
the
soul of her economy" and has thus been the subject of
exhaustive
analysis.
China's local content situation is taking shape in a particularly unusual
context
and reflects broad trends taking shape across the nation; a determination
at
state level to integrate into the world economy and liberalise domestic
markets
against a backdrop of resistance at local level and social unrest.
Unlike the
governments of other natural resource producing countries, Beijing
is actively
seeking
to eradicate local content regulation. Indeed, since 2002
there have not
been any
official local content laws in the extractive
sectors,
according to
the
government.
But while the statute books have largely removed the body of
such
regulation,
it is clear that certain aspects of the rules of the game
have
not
changed.
Whilst
not spoken of directly or written into any regional
charters,
bureaucrats
often ensure that goods, services and materials are sourced locally
- as
befits
their own interests.
In the absence of local content specific legislation, however, or universally
established practice,
local
content
in
China remains for the most
part
an
area of uncertainty.