From conflict to incomplete synergy: Capital exchange and governance evolution of multi-actor relations in Chinese rural gentrification

Compared with displacement-centred accounts in much of the Western literature, Chinese rural gentrification often involves the coexistence of multiple actors. However, under conditions of asymmetrical power and capital, the dynamic mechanisms through which multi-actor relationships transcend initial structural conflicts and gradually evolve into a state of coexistence with a certain degree of synergy remain under-theorised. This study integrates Bourdieu's capital theory and Blau's social exchange theory to construct a “capital exchange” analytical framework, taking Mingyue Village as a case study to dissect the dynamic evolutionary mechanisms of actor interactions in the process of Chinese rural gentrification. The findings reveal that disparities in capital conversion capabilities create unequal structural positions within the field, leading to the concentration of definition rights over rural space and benefit distribution rights among dominant actors, which constitutes the structural root of conflicts in the early stages of gentrification. However, social attraction rooted in mutual resource needs prompts the actors to reach a preliminary consensus on key conditions; through sustained resource concessions and exchanges, they establish trust and reciprocal dependence, thereby propelling actor relationships from conflict towards stable cooperation. Although institutional arrangements and the partial breakthrough of weaker actors' capital conversion capabilities further propel relationships towards synergy, under existing structural constraints, this synergy nonetheless exhibits an evident “incompleteness.” This study reveals that actor relationships in rural gentrification are not statically formed; rather, they constitute a dynamic evolutionary process moving from conflict gradually towards cooperation and incomplete synergy, mediated by capital exchange under structural constraints.