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Strange as it may seem, many years of miracle growth are always the “easy” part for a poor country. The tough part is usually the subsequent adjustment needed to accommodate the changes generated over the miracle years.
China’s unbalanced economy is the result of a successful structural transition that has created sustained GDP, consumption, and wage growth.
As the debate in Beijing intensifies over the quality and sustainability of China’s economic growth, China’s most thoughtful economists are increasingly skeptical about the need for high gross domestic product growth rates.
In a China that is rebalancing toward a healthier economic model, the key metric is not the growth rate of GDP. It's household income that matters.
Chinese leaders are less concerned about growth moderating in the short term and are more focused on long-term reforms.
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.
Overinvestment in China is creating debt problems, an experience that is similar to other historical investment-led growth miracles.
Further fiscal stimulus might create growth in the short term, but would be harmful for China in the future.
China is giving more consideration to the possibility of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The United States and China need to define an affirmative economic agenda to strengthen their relationship and move their economies forward.