Rather than suggesting that its growth model is failing, China’s macroeconomic imbalances show that it is following the same trajectory that allowed Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea to reach high-income status.

RMB internationalization will have long-term benefits, but for now China should focus on the intrinsic value of financial reforms rather than their role as prerequisites to internationalization

Lessons from other successful developing countries suggest that China’s path to growth may involve continued imbalances and require policy reforms that are often misunderstood.

Policy distortions, shifting labor migration patterns, and higher education enrollments are creating labor shortages and skill-mix problems in China.

Beijing should focus more on individual market reforms and worry less about internationalizing the yuan.