The rapid growth of the Chinese economy in the last two decades has brought significant and widespread prosperity to the Chinese people. But with that change has come new social, economic and environmental problems that are only now emerging.
On the domestic front, the trickling-down mechanisms that channel part of China’s economic growth to lower-income groups has slowed down considerably. While the vast majority of the Chinese population still experiences continued income growth, the hardcore (extreme) poverty rate has stagnated and the degree of economic inequality has increased across provinces and across occupations. On the international front, disputes over China’s trade barriers and exchange rate policies have become more frequent and more contentious. The solution to these new problems will require not only creative policies by China, but also cooperative policies with the rest of the world.
On January 8, the John L. Thornton China Center and CAIJING Magazine hosted a symposium on China’s economy and its implications for the global economy. A distinguished panel of leading economists and China experts analyzed and discussed the policy options that would enable sustained high growth of the Chinese and global economy. After each panel, participants took audience questions.