Subsuming Chinese Business Elites Into the Party's Fold: The Subtle Strategies of the United Front Work Department

Abstract

How does an authoritarian regime incorporate economic elites during market transitions while retaining political control? This article analyzes the strategies of China's United Front Work Department (UFWD) in politically integrating private business elites amid the shift to a socialist market economy. Based on 56 in-depth interviews and a biographical data set of the top 500 Chinese billionaires, the study shows how the UFWD acts as an adaptive institutional mechanism—deploying recognition, intermediaries, appointments, and training—to embed entrepreneurs into Party-sanctioned roles. The findings reveal a structured co-optation process rooted in utility, loyalty, and representativeness, enabling the CCP to leverage elite resources while minimizing political risk. By illuminating how the Party incorporates powerful actors without relinquishing control, the paper contributes to broader debates on authoritarian resilience, elite co-optation, and institutional adaptation under nondemocratic regimes.