Commentary
New academic research questions Beijing’s claims about how advanced China’s economy really is. Contrary to Beijing’s characterization of an economy that has reached parity with, even surpassed the U.S. economy, the authors of this book-length study, entitled “The Power of Creative Destruction” and written by Philippe Aghion, Celine Antonin, and Simon Bunel, determine that China, though it has made great strides over the years, still largely runs its economy by adopting and imitating innovations made elsewhere and, despite some impressive showcase project such as space exploration and weapons development, has yet to pass to the last phase of development in which it would innovate itself on the frontier of technology and development.
