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China’s Communist Party
ChinaPolitics

Does China need its own theory of economics? Some academics call for a new model

  • In Communist Party mouthpiece, academics argue that China has its own path to modernisation
  • Western ratings agencies have presented pessimistic outlooks for country’s growth prospects

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China’s development requires its own theory of economics, some academics say. Photo: AFP
Vanessa Caiin Shanghai

China should have its own economic theory to frame its development and answer the questions that Western systems cannot, according to a series of commentaries published in Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Monday.

The calls by a number of academics come as Western ratings agencies offer increasingly pessimistic outlooks for China’s growth prospects despite Beijing’s attempts to convince the world otherwise.

One of the main arguments in favour of a new framework is that China’s modernisation differs from the West’s, and Western economics is not the answer to China’s problems – a point supported by Fudan University professor Zhou Wen and and Hong Yongmiao, dean of the school of economics and management at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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In his commentary, Zhou said President Xi Jinping’s political doctrine on the economy should serve as a guide for the framework, saying Xi’s thoughts on the economy “provide accurate guidance for grasping the logic of economic and social development”.

He echoed Xi’s comments last year that China’s progress had debunked “the myth that modernisation means Westernisation”.

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At the time, Xi said the Chinese model “presents another picture of modernisation, [and] expands the path choices for developing countries”.

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