Can China Transition to a Consumption Economy?

Can China Transition to a Consumption Economy?
People walk in a shopping mall in Jingan district in Shanghai, China, on March 16, 2022. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
Christopher Balding
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The great economist Michael Pettis at Tsinghua University has noted for years the importance for the Chinese economy to shift its growth dependency away from investment and toward greater consumption. As China faces its weakest sustained economic period in modern history, it bears worth asking, can China shift toward a more consumer-focused economy?

Christopher Balding
Christopher Balding
Author
Christopher Balding was a professor at the Fulbright University Vietnam and the HSBC Business School of Peking University Graduate School. He specializes in the Chinese economy, financial markets, and technology. A senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, he lived in China and Vietnam for more than a decade before relocating to the United States.
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