How to Revive China’s Sagging Economy?

Date & Time: April 22, 2024 (Monday) 17:00 – 18:15

Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F, Cheng Yu Tung Tower, HKU
(In-person only)

Description:
China’s economy is at a crossroads, facing its most significant challenges in recent memory. Amidst this economic turmoil, a fierce debate has emerged among leading experts: Is the current economic downturn a result of ingrained structural issues, excessive state intervention, or escalating geopolitical tensions?

In this roundtable discussion, Professor Angela Zhang will offer a fresh perspective, steering the conversation towards the distinct model of China’s regulatory governance. Drawing insights from her newly released book, “High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy,” Professor Zhang will introduce the “Dynamic Pyramid Model” to demystify the complexity in Chinese regulation and its enormous impact on the Chinese economy. Through this lens, she will explain the consistent regulatory pattern in some of the biggest policy challenges China has faced in recent years, including tech regulation, the covid-19 pandemic control, the energy crisis in 2021, the ongoing property crack down and China’s demographic crisis. This discussion aims to shed light on the political logic underpinning China’s regulatory policies, while also identifying potential pathways toward economic revival.

Joining Professor Zhang will be a distinguished panel of experts from the fields of financial economics, political science, and journalism, each bringing a unique perspective to this vital conversation on rejuvenating the future of China’s economy.

Speaker:
Angela Zhang is an Associate Professor of Law at The University of Hong Kong and Director of the Philip K. H. Wong Center for Chinese Law. Widely recognized as a leading authority on China’s tech regulation, Angela has written extensively on this topic. She is the author of “Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism: How the Rise of China Challenges Global Regulation” (Oxford, 2021), which was named one of the Best Political Economy Books of 2021 by ProMarket. Angela’s second book, “High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy,” was released by Oxford University Press in March 2024. For more information, please visit her website at AngelaZhang.net, and follow her on Twitter @AngelaZhangHK.

Zhiwu Chen is a Chair and Cheng Yu-Tung Professor in Finance at The University of Hong Kong. Professor Chen currently serves as director of both Hong Kong Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (HKIHSS) and Centre for Quantitative History (CQH).

Cheng Li is a Professor of Political Science and founding director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) at The University of Hong Kong.

Xiangwei Wang is an award winning journalist with more than 30 years of experience. He is recognized as one of Asia’s leading commentators on China and its international relations. He worked for the South China Morning Post for 26 years, of which he was the newspaper’s Editor-In-Chief from 2012 to 2015.

Moderator:

Brian Wong is an Assistant Professor in Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong.