What are the prospects for the Chinese economy? Few, if any, economic questions can be more important. I have just attended this year’s China Development Forum in Beijing, which brings western business leaders and scholars together with senior Chinese policy makers and academics, with this question very much in my mind.
Outside China, pessimism has been growing about the ability of the colossus to sustain its rapid growth. Worriers are paying particular attention to excessive capacity, investment and debt. I share the view that making the transition to slower and more balanced growth is an extraordinarily hard challenge even by the standards of those China has already met. Yet betting against the success of Chinese policy makers has been a foolish wager. When a superb horse meets a new obstacle, the odds must be on the horse. But even the best horse may fall.
Yang Weimin, a vice-minister in the government, laid out the country’s new “guidelines for comprehensively deepening reform” in an invaluable background paper. This notes several new conditions.