A positive role of central government control on firm value versus a negative one of its local peers. A U-shaped relationship between ownership concentration and firm value despite a high inflection point. Higher government quality enhances the positive effect of central government control while mitigating the negative impact of local government control. The relationship between ownership concentration and firm value is attenuated by financial development, indicating the substitution effect between internal and external monitoring mechanisms. Empirical evidence for the institutional embeddedness of Chinese corporate governance.