In this thesis, the author analyzes the role of Local People‘s Congresses (LPCs) in China in shaping state-society relations in a decentralized authoritarian regime. Classical theories of corporatism are applied in order to examine the political functions of the LPC, a local representative and legislative mechanism. The author further proposes expanding the application of corporatist theory to encompass elected representative assemblies. In his analysis, the author explores how the state penetrates into and controls the LPC, and how, at the same time, the local legislature unequally incorporates various social groups into public affairs. He compares and contrasts biased strategies adopted by the state via the LPCs concerning different social sectors, under a dichotomy of inclusionary and exclusionary corporatism, based on which he further suggests a tentative typology of liberal/corporatist/communist legislature to enrich theories of comparative legislative studies. The author‘s analysis is based on field research conducted in 2009, as well as on his previous internships and attendances in the Provincial People‘s Congress in Zhejiang Province, China. This thesis extends the scope of research on the legislative institution in China to the field of state-society relations and contributes to comparative legislative studies in the perspective of corporatism. / Graduate