Research Of International Cooperation Of Subnational Governments

On the background of globalization, international cooperation among sub-national governments becomes more and more active. The topic of this dissertation is of significance which aims to correctly understand and guide the developments of international cooperation among sub-national governments. A series of methods including literature analysis, comparison and case study are adopted in this dissertation. The international cooperation of Chinese sub-national governments especially behaviors of Jilin Province have been studied. The main conclusions are as follow.Firstly, international cooperation of sub-national governments is reasonable and inevitable. Globalization leads to decline of central governments, decentralization, function expansion of sub-national governments and autonomy. Thus, sub-national governments have both ability and motivity to take part in international cooperation. International cooperation at the level of sub-national governments is multilayer, incomplete, independent, and sub-authoritative and shows the advantages of flexibility, innovation, trend-led, lower sensitivity of politics and facility. Therefore, international cooperation of sub-national governments can make up the shortages of central government.Secondly, China can be benefited from the experiences and practices of international cooperation of sub-national governments in the world. The international cooperation of sub-national governments in the United States, Japan and South Korea reveals that it is necessary for central governments to support and monitor international behaviors of their sub-national governments. Construction of mechanism and a unified organization is of importance to guide the international cooperation of sub-national governments. The international cooperation of sub-national governments should meet with the actual demands of both the country and the region and avoid the blindness.Thirdly, the international cooperation in particular cooperation with Northeast Asia countries of Jilin Province is meaning. Jilin Province grasps the opportunity of the rejuvenation of old industrial base in northeastern China, concentrates on international cooperation of Tumen River exploitation, and guides the cooperation with construction of Changchun– Jilin - Tumen River open economic zone. The international cooperation of Jilin Province mainly focuses on five fields including resource, infrastructure, human resource, technique and culture, and ecologic conditions and environments. There are some limitations of Jilin Province's international cooperation since international cooperation at the level of sub-national governments is limited by its non-sovereignty, dependency, and the game playing with the central government.Fourthly, China should do more to encourage international cooperation of sub-national governments. Economic globalization improves the position of sub-national governments in international cooperation. When establish a harmonious relationship with central government, sub-national governments may have a large space to act in international cooperation. In Northeast Asia economic cooperation, China should strengthen its motivating mechanism, help form the normative cooperating mechanism, and establish and maintain the dominant position in the cooperation.This dissertation has made some innovation. It provides a wider view angle combing politics with economics, explores the international cooperation of sub-national governments deeply which is expected to add the fruits in this field, and makes a specific study of international cooperation of Jilin Province which provides an analyzing framework for other sub-national governments.