Manoeuvring under territoriality: Strategic compliance in China’s micro-regeneration

In the post-pandemic era, China’s urban governance has exhibited a trend of transformation from an entrepreneurial orientation to a territorial logic of managerial statecraft. However, under the strict spatial control of the central state, it remains unclear whether local governments have abandoned their long-standing entrepreneurial means and are instead implementing management-oriented governance, oriented to cultural preservation, social stability and spatial order. This study examines two micro-regeneration projects, namely, Moshikou in Beijing and Pantang Wuyue in Guangzhou. It investigates how local governments balance the central–local tension in practice. We argue that the local governance model is characterised by the notion of strategic compliance, which is reflected in three key dimensions: protection–operation coupling, phased incrementalism and role and funding reallocation. This study refined the understanding of urban governance transformation from state entrepreneurialism to managerial statecraft in post-pandemic China. The finding of strategic compliance brings macro-level debates down to meso-level mechanisms.