Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Unprecedented

Western observers often try to understand China in Western contexts. Stephen S Roach, of Yale University and Morgan Stanley Asia suggests that approach won't work when analyzing China's economy. He wrote for Project Syndicate and Al Jazeera.

Blanca Facundo, who teaches in Puerto Rico, suggested this article. Thank you.

Ten reasons why China is different

The China doubters are back in force. They seem to come in waves - every few years, or so. Yet, year in and year out, China has defied the naysayers and stayed the course, perpetuating the most spectacular development miracle of modern times. That seems likely to continue…

There is a kernel of truth to many of the concerns cited above, especially with respect to the current inflation problem. But they stem largely from misplaced generalisations. Here are ten reasons why it doesn't pay to diagnose the Chinese economy by drawing inferences from the experiences of others:

Strategy
Commitment
Wherewithal to deliver
Saving
Rural-urban migration
Low-hanging fruit: Consumption
Low-hanging fruit: Services
Foreign direct investment
Education
Innovation
Yale historian Jonathan Spence has long cautioned that the West tends to view China through the same lens as it sees itself. Today's cottage industry of China doubters is a case in point. Yes, by our standards, China's imbalances are unstable and unsustainable. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has, in fact, gone public with a similar critique. But that's why China is so different. It actually takes these concerns seriously. Unlike the West, where the very concept of strategy has become an oxymoron, China has embraced a transitional framework aimed at resolving its sustainability constraints. Moreover, unlike the West, which is trapped in a dysfunctional political quagmire, China has both the commitment and the wherewithal to deliver on that strategy. This is not a time to bet against China.