Zhongguo Corporate Empire

The Zhongguo Corporate Empire (official script: 中國企業帝國; abbr: 中國) is an aggregation of nation-states spanning central and eastern Asia that is governed by a corporate holding company that owns, directly or indirectly, every private company that the population relies on in day-to-day life, including energy, transportation, food production and distribution, construction, machine manufacture, technology, communication, and entertainment.

History

Shortly after the United States collapsed in -311 GE and the TDR was formed in -292 GE, the ruling party of the nation Zhongguo (also called: China) began working on a new east Asian unification plan. With all protection from "western" allies gone, smaller southeast Asian countries we vulnerable. However, the party leaders in China also recognized that traditional democratic and constitutional governments were collapsing all over the world. It was time to take a new approach to power.
Japan preemptively approached China with an offer to sign non-aggression treaties in return for extended binding trade contracts that substantially favored China in terms of economic control. China agreed to this arrangement, and then used it as a template for their economic, rather than military, take-over of both Taiwan and South Korea. Ecological failures were fomenting global economic instability, making these take-overs surprisingly quick and non-confrontational. In each case, China's approach was to say to the struggling nation: you do not have to give up your culture or your familiar local governing offices or leaders, as long as you sign contracts that give ultimate economic control to the centralized corporate interests in China.
In a particularly savvy maneuver, the take-over of Taiwan was promoted as the "failure" and "downfall" of the Communist Party. What had been Communist China became Jiǔ Zhōu, one of several nation-states that comprised a new empire, Zhongguo, that promised traditional values, local leadership, and complete cultural autonomy for its constituent nation-states. In return, the empire arranged to have complete economic control over its constituents through the dictates of a web of contracts among private companies centered in Jiǔ Zhōu.
With the collapse of the global fishing industry in -285 GE, Zhongguo absorbed the Philipines, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia using the same approach. In theory, each nation retained its own political structure and police force; in practice, however, these political structures were always beholden to gigantic transnational corporate interests centered in Jiǔ Zhōu. In -241 GE the Cruz Corporate Empire declared itself as a world power, formalizing this style of transnational governance: stability through economic unification, rather than military or political conquest. Constitutional and democratic government continued to collapse in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, and New Zealand, while Russia slowly dissolved into chaos. It was clear that a new era of corporate governance had begun.
In -192 GE, the largest corporations involved in these maneuvers merged under a single holding company called the Zhongguo Corporate Empire (official script: 中國企業帝國), formally constituting the new world power.

Structure

The Zhongguo Corporate Empire retains some trappings of traditional empire, including a figurehead emperor who resides in the capital nation-state of Jiǔ Zhōu. Extensive market testing conducted in the decades prior to the official formation of the empire showed that large portions of the population responded positively to the idea of being ruled by a traditional leader. As a result, the Zhongguo Corporate Empire ceremoniously ordained an emperor (chosen from the corporate board of directors) who would make public appearances, confer with counsels of elders, and meet with local governing officials throughout the empire to listen and advise. None of what the emperor actually does, however, bears any resemblence to what one might call "governing."
Not much has changed in the day to day lives of the citizens under the new unitary corporatocracy. Laws have been functionally replaced by corporate policies, and corporate security functions in the role that previously had been occupied by police forces. The central goverment dictates economic policy across the empire, but unlike other historical empires the Zhongguo Corporate Empire makes no attempt to micromanage the way its citizens work, sleep, love, or worship.

Culture

Citizens of Zhongguo are taught that for-profit government is the only sensible sociopolitical system, because it integrates two balancing philosophies into a single controlling structure: the economic drive to materialism and profit, on the one hand, and the social ideals of honor and stability, on the other. These values are such obvious truths, according to the propaganda, that there is no need for the Zhongguo Corporate Empire to use outdated methods such as military force or social control. It achieves relative stability by simply providing an economic backbone to countries across a wide region during a period of fear and chaos.
This polished storyline isn't accepted equally in all parts of the empire, of course. Because of the intense effort put into the propaganda campaign in the Republic of China (Taiwan), Zhōnghuá Mínguó became one of the most dedicated advocates of the Zhongguo empire early on. By contrast, Japan only negotiated its alliance in the beginning as a strategic matter: they believed Japan had a greater chance of preserving cultural and political freedom under the blanket protection of Zhongguo than they would have if conflicts devolved matters of military conflict. (They were probably correct about this.) Internally, however, Japanese sentiment toward the Zhongguo Corporate Empire is largely negative: everyday citizens avoid doing anything that would require them to deal with the larger empire if possible, and they assume that any news they hear from the empire is a lie.

Founded: -192 GE

Nomenclature

Alternative Name(s)

中國企業帝國 (Official Script)
Zhōngguó qǐyè dìguó (Global Script)

Short Name(s)

中國 (Official Script)
Zhōngguó (Global Script)

Official Language(s)

Guoyu (国语)
Huayu (华语; 華語)

Official Seal

"With perfection of economy and balance of power, Zhongguo is the eternal system."

Power Structure

Government System

Corporatocracy

Internal Organization

Unitary state

Economic System

Mixed economy

Capital

Shenzhen, Jiǔ Zhōu

Notable Properties

Controlled Space Stations

• Munsin Junction

Alliances

Alliance

Cruz Corporate Empire

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Zhongguo Corporate Empire

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For more Information see:
Zhongguo-Cruz Corporate Empire Alliance