China's Vulnerability Paradox : How the World's Largest Consumer Transformed Global Commodity Markets

In China''s Vulnerability Paradox, Pascale Massot presents an original framework to examine the uneven transformations in global commodity markets resulting from the dramatic, contemporary expansion of China''s economy. While one might expect China to be able to easily exert power in these markets, Massot argues that China is actually quite vulnerable to external forces. She zeros in on the relative position of China''s market power across numerous major commodities: in ore, potash, uranium, and copper. At a time of deepening US-China tensions and debates about the future of the global economy, this book provides an alternative understanding of the dynamics connecting the domestic political economy of large emerging economies and that of global markets.

China''s Vulnerability Paradox explains the uneven transformations in global commodity markets resulting from China''s contemporary, dramatic economic growth. At times, China displays vulnerabilities towards global commodity markets because of unequal positions of market power. Why is it that Chinese stakeholders are often unable to shape markets in their preferred direction? Why have some markets undergone fundamental changes while other similar ones did not? And how can we explain the uneven liberalization dynamics across markets? Through a series of case studies, Pascale Massot argues that the balance of market power between Chinese domestic and international market stakeholders explains their behavior as well as the likelihood of global institutional change. At a time of deepening US-China economic tensions, this book provides an alternative, granular understanding of the interacting dynamics between the political economy of Chinese and global markets.