How sustainable (or unsustainable) is China's miracle growth since Deng's reforms?
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
- Room
- TBC
- Event type
- Seminar
About this event
Professor Kent Deng will talk about his latest book, The Rise and Fall of China’s Economic Miracle, 1950-2030.
After several decades of unprecedented growth that turned China into the world's second largest economy, today China is facing major economic challenges, exacerbated by rising tariffs imposed by its most important export market, the United States. How can we explain the extraordinary rise and sudden faltering of China's economic miracle?
Professor Deng takes a long-term view, charting the development of China's economy from the 14th century to the present day. He shows the level of growth reached by China's traditional economy and compares this with the economic performance during Mao's rule from the 1950s to the 1970s, a period that fell into a growth cul-de-sac with major economic disincentives and mass poverty.
This forced Mao's successor, Deng Xiaoping, to reform and open up China's economy by unleashing the economic power of the market. The new model developed by Deng Xiaoping was driven by state-led import dependency in order to catch up with the West. Exports were a means to that end. But this economic model is now facing increasing resistance from those countries on which China has relied for its growth. Since 2010, two doors have been closing on China: the door for goods heading for China (vital for China's modernisation) and the door for goods coming from China (vital for paying for China's imports).
Given the headwinds China now faces, and given that many low-income countries have now modelled themselves on China and begun to supply the world market with low-priced goods, Professor Deng argues that China would need an economic miracle to bounce back to its pre-2010 growth trajectory.
Registration
This event is open to the public and free to attend; however, registration is required. This event is taking place on campus and will not be recorded or live-streamed.
Organiser
This event has been organised by the SOAS China Institute.
Image credit: Jerry Wang on Unsplash
About the speaker
Kent Deng is Professor of Economic History at the LSE and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS). Since 2015, he has served as Editor of the Economic History Series at Palgrave Macmillan Press. His research explores the economic history of pre-modern China, including the rise of the literati, maritime trade, peasant economies, demography, fiscal institutions, and developmental constraints. He has also examined early modern railway development in China and the long-term evolution of the Chinese economy. Professor Deng has published widely and authored several books, most recently The Rise and Fall of China’s Economic Miracle, 1950–2030 (2026).
Chair
This event will be chaired by Professor Steve Tsang (Director, SOAS China Institute).
Contact
Email: sci@soas.ac.uk
'The Rise and Fall of China’s Economic Miracle, 1950-2030' book cover
