Jeff Wang, November 8, 2018   The Chinese government has been gradually tightening its foreign exchange controls to the great detriment of enterprises and citizens, as well as the country’s economic vitality. What are the reasons for this heavy regulation, and what does it tells us about the economic and political state of China? Over the last two years, members of the Chinese middle class have found it increasingly challenging to access foreign exchanges or make international remittances. Ms. Zhang (张女士), a Chinese woman who had immigrated to the United States and who declined to disclose her full name, returned to Beijing this October to sell her apartment. However, the process of sending the money to the U. S. has proved a daunting experience. “I’m […]

By He Qinglian, published: September 30, 2015   A flood of commentary has come out since the release of the long-anticipated Guiding Opinions on Strengthening and Reform of State-Owned Enterprises (《中共中央、国务院关于深化国有企业改革的指导意见》; “SOE Reform Program” or “Program” hereafter), jointly issued by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council. Some say that the Program is aimed at expanding and strengthening SOEs, while others say that the government is using market forces to promote privatization. That the same plan can yield two radically different suppositions is due to the Program’s strong “Xi Jinping quality”: It tries to combine the governance characteristics of both Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping and gain some advantage from both sides, thereby introducing a whole bunch of mutually contradictory […]

By Xiao Zhonghua, published: September 19, 2015 “Everyone understands that, in China, the real estate business is closely entwined with power, and it has no way to succeed without the backing of political connections. Therefore, wealth generated from real estate is not wealth generated completely from the market economy. [He] can’t exit just because he wants to.” – Luo Tianhao, Don’t Let Li Ka-shing Run Away   An expert at Xinhua News Agency’s “Outlook Think Tank” (瞭望智库) recently published a brilliant essay entitled “Don’t Let Li Ka-shing Run Away.” This piece has caused quite a stir in public opinion in China and beyond. As an economist who understands a thing or two about how economics works, I lament the woeful standards at Chinese think tanks […]