Not Chinese exceptionalism, but comparative institutionalism!

In this commentary, I endorse Töpfer’s critique on the conceptual centrality of ‘lead firms’ in the existing global production network/global financial network analyses and her argument to restore the primary role of the state in theorizing global financial integration. I suggest that the next step on the research agenda is to go beyond Chinese exceptionalism and develop an integrated politico-institutional framework that can enable critical, comparative studies of territorially variegated economic globalization.