Between private property and the people: Hu Jintaoand the new governmentality

Abstract

This paper analyzes the transformation of Sino-socialist governance during the administration of Hu Jintao (2003-2012). Its aim is to examine the governing ideas with which the Communist Party of China responded to the limitations of capitalism in the first decade of the 21st century ensuring a constant adjustment between productive forces and relations of production, neoliberal rationality and socialist rationality.The analysis is based on the framework proposed by Michel Foucault in his work on governmentality, and critically interprets CCP documents and specialized literature. The hypothesis of the work argues that Hu Jintao’s leadership of the reform and opening-up toward an integral construction marks the beginning of a governmentality with its own characteristics.