China has been in a gradual economic slowdown for nearly a decade, but with the coronavirus pandemic its growth has fallen off a cliff, contracting 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020. Notably, China’s premier, Li Keqiang, has refused to set a growth target—a sign that China will be lucky if its growth rate this year makes it into positive territory at all. Yet, as the first major economy to begin the recovery process, China’s experience may have implications for the United States and Europe. Carnegie’s Yukon Huang and Michael Pettis will debate China’s growth prospects and economic policy trajectory, including the roles of the state and private sector and potential shifts in the growth model in a time of crisis.

Yukon Huang

Yukon Huang is a senior fellow in the Carnegie Asia Program, where his research focuses on China’s economy and its regional and global impact. He was formerly the World Bank’s country director for China and earlier director for Russia and the Former Soviet Union Republics. 

Michael Pettis

Michael Pettis is a nonresident senior fellow in the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. An expert on China’s economy, Pettis is professor of finance at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, where he specializes in Chinese financial markets. 

Evan A. Feigenbaum

Evan A. Feigenbaum is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research in Washington, Beijing and New Delhi on a dynamic region encompassing both East Asia and South Asia.