CeMEAS Conversations: What’s ahead for the Chinese Economy

Prof. Barry Naughton (University of California San Diego)

Professor Barry Naughton is the Sokwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California San Diego. He is one of the world’s most highly respected economists working on the Chinese economy. Among dozens of influential books and articles, he wrote the authoritative textbook on the subject, The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth, which has now been translated into Chinese. His groundbreaking book Growing Out of the Plan: Chinese Economic Reform, 1978-1993 received the Ohira Memorial Prize.

In our conversation, he answers the following questions:
1, China is said to be in search of a new growth model. What does that mean?
2, Regarding China’s state-led approach to industrial upgrading, how do you evaluate the prospects of Made in China 2025?
3, Is it possible that the long-term payoff will justify the short-run costs?
4, How have economic reforms progressed under Xi Jinping?

Our video series “What is the Future of Made in China?” was filmed on the sidelines of a symposium of the same name held at the University of Göttingen on 17 July 2017 which drew together many of the leading thinkers on this topic from around the globe. In our conversations with three of these experts (Barry Naughton, Victor Shih, and Doris Fischer) we explore China’s new generation of muscular industrial policies that aim at making China a high-tech economy and innovation superpower. The conversations offer insight into what lies ahead for the Chinese economy and illuminate the implications of China’s plans for European countries with their own ambitions in an Industry 4.0 world.