Transcript Beijing Consensus - Western Washington University

From China Daily – Official View
Beijing Consensus
China’s Alternative Development
Model
The Beijing Consensus
• The Beijing Consensus (also sometimes called the "China
Model" or "Chinese Economic Model"[1]) is a term that
refers to the political and especially economic policies of
the People's Republic of China[2] that began after the death
of Mao Zedong and the rehabilitation of Deng Xiaoping
(1976) and are thought to have contributed to China's
eightfold growth in gross national product over two
decades.[3][4] The phrase "Beijing Consensus" was coined by
Joshua Cooper Ramo to pose China's economic
development model as an alternative — especially for
developing countries — to the Washington Consensus of
market-friendly policies promoted by the IMF, World Bank
and U.S. Treasury.[5][6]
The Beijing Consensus
• More a notion than true program or idea
• “Fusion of Chinese thinking with lessons
learned from the failure of globalization
culture in other places” (Ramo, 2004, 5)
Three overarching ideals
1. Innovation
2. Pursuit of Dynamic Goals/Rejection of Per
capita GDP
3. Self Determination
Innovation
• Government
actively
innovates
• Constant
tinkering &
change
• Examples: One
child policy,
stock market
intervention,
Yuan
intervention…
China is willing to keep intervening in the stock
market to make sure a few speculators don’t
benefit at the expense of regular investors, China’s
vice president said in an interview.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-21/china-vice-president-vows-to-look-after-stock-marketinvestors
Pursuit of Dynamic Goals/ Rejection of
Per capita GDP
• Measures like HDI
(Human Development
Index) more important
than GPD/capita
• 5 balances (next slide)
Rank
Country
1 Switzerland
2 Denmark
3 New Zealand
4 Germany
5 Australia
45 Brazil
46 China
47 Iran
48 Pakistan
49 Singapore
Quality of Life Purchasing
Index
Power Index
Safety Index
Health Care
Index
Consumer
Price Index
Property Price
to Income
Ratio
Traffic
Commute
Time Index
Pollution
Index
Climate Index
208.54
206.49
201.06
199.7
198.79
178.74
142.14
115.47
147.61
147.25
74.27
74.33
63.63
67.05
56.88
68.88
81.89
72.6
75.85
73.71
123.1
84.88
78.17
65.54
78.45
8.57
5.85
6.28
7.13
8.43
28.73
25.64
31.1
29.07
34.65
23.02
29.93
19.04
29.91
22.88
70.5
70.65
88.35
63.02
77.33
101.02
99.03
96.93
93.99
93.09
48.69
77.42
47.73
43.34
110.5
28.77
67.92
47.63
43.37
84.19
51.09
61.2
49.83
61.27
69.06
38.88
48.1
41.12
26.69
83.67
17.95
24.98
14.78
15.27
23.17
46.12
44.09
48.15
36.85
43.43
61.18
85.54
84.21
76.64
38.83
72.6
46.59
74.61
41.17
-66.63
5 Balances: Putting People First
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Urban – rural development
Regional development
Economic and social development
Man and Nature balance
Domestic and international balance
Self Determination
• Refusing to let Western Powers to impose
their will
• Highly attractive to other LDCs – especially
Africa
What might be the future
Peak
1995
Underlying factor -- population
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/05/national/numbers-tell-tale-japans-postwar-rise-fall/#.WIZdDlUrKUk
Will Chinese Economy Stall like the Japanese did in
1990 in the year 2020? 2030?
Wishful thinking for China?
Past
Future???
Currently at 6%, a bit lower
then projected
Beijing Consensus
Among the characteristics attributed to the "China Model" by Western
commentators include:
• replacing trust in the free market for economic growth with "a more
muscular state hand on the levers of capitalism";[14]
• an absence of political liberalization;[3]
• strong leading role of ruling political party;[3]
• population control;[15]
According to academic and former Chinese official Zhang Weiwei, the "key
features" of the model are:
• down-to-earth pragmatic concern with serving the people;[13]
• constant trial and error experimentation;[13]
• gradual reform rather than neo-liberal economic shock therapy;[13]
• a strong and pro-development state;[13]
• "selective cultural borrowing" of foreign ideas;[13]
• a pattern of implementing easy reforms first, difficult ones later.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Consensus
Discussion
• WTO and the Washington vs. Beijing
Consensus (in 2 minutes) Carnegie Council for Ethics in
International Affairs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imwSdeZ
0ytk
• Neo liberalism & Washington consensus-On
the Edge With Max Keiser-11-11-2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRH0au
myyME
Caution
ZHANG, Weiwei
(2 November 2006). "The allure of the Chinese model" (PDF).
International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
It is inaccurate to describe the Chinese model as the
"Beijing consensus" versus the "Washington consensus."
What makes the Chinese experience unique is that
Beijing has safeguarded its own policy space
as to when, where and how to adopt foreign ideas.
Silliness
• Monty Python Communist Quiz sketch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqZ5hZohlk