New | In China, is Keynes key or is it more about the market?

Imagine this: China’s top economic brains all gathered in a room – open to the media – discussing the country’s future.

That’s what happened last Friday afternoon at the annual gathering of the Chinese Economists 50 Forum – an elite club of China’s who’s who in economic decision-making and research.

The room was laden with a sense of purpose and urgency as they discussed what Beijing could do to achieve sustainable growth while maintaining stability.

The gathering of the group – which included Xi’s top aide in economic policymaking Liu He, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan and renowned economist Wu Jinglian – came as Beijing battles a slowdown.

Wu, 86, popularly known as “Market Wu” for his belief that socialism is compatible with a market system, said Beijing’s efforts to change its growth model had made little headway over the past 20 years because of vested interests and “institutional obstacles”.

“Why is the progress so slow ... The government is still playing a dominant role in resource allocation. The problem has not yet been solved,” lamented Wu, who in the 1990s advised the top leadership on building a market-based economic system.