Given the decentralisation and opening-up that China has been experiencing since 1979, the rise of corruption and the criminal economy can be attributed to the increased opportunities observable at macro-economic level and a context of relative impunity for the most serious offences. Functionalist and culturalist interpretations of this corruption fail to take account of its political dimension, which is not simply a matter of its instrumentalisation in the struggle between ruling factions. Contrary to the situation prevailing in certain democratic developing countries, criminals in China do not have the option of becoming state representatives, but certain state representatives, notably at local level, are well placed to make choices to the advantage of criminal circles, as happens in Mexico, and so share in the illicit gains.
