China’s Long March: From Politics to Economics and From Economics to Politics

Yasheng Huang kickstarted the AGI Public Policy Seminar Series this year with an in-depth analysis of the dynamics of China’s economic and political reforms after 1978, based on his book, The Rise and Fall of the EAST, published in August 2023. Central to his argument was the notion that economic development has emerged as the primary focus of the Chinese state, resulting in a succession of transformative reforms that have facilitated China’s meteoric economic rise over the past several decades. 

In recent years, however, Huang observed that the policy emphasis has once again pivoted back to political considerations, which have attenuated the nation’s momentum of growth. Huang believes that China needs deeper institutional reform and more investment in human capital in order to reinvigorate the momentum.