Regulating Nonprofit Organizations in China: The Interplay of Privatization Reform and State Control

ABSTRACT The global movement of privatization reforms has spurred the growth of nonprofit organizations and the establishment of the regulatory state. Existing studies on developing and transition countries have primarily focused on how nonprofit regulations sustain state control, while overlooking the influence of privatization reforms and the interplay between privatization and state control in these contexts. We address this gap by analyzing the evolution of nonprofit regulations in China. Using archival and interview data, this study illustrates how privatization reforms have driven regulatory changes, facilitating a paradigm shift from command‐and‐control regulation through public ownership to a more sophisticated regime that integrates rule‐making and enforcement with self‐regulation and third‐party oversight. This new regulatory framework arising from privatization reforms incorporate state control yet ultimately expand civic space for nonprofits. Even as progress in privatization reforms has moderated and state control becomes more pronounced, the institutional change under the privatization reform has created enduring imprints that sustain nonprofit autonomy.