# The New China Playbook - Author: [Keyu Jin](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin.md) - Quotes: 42 - Book page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook ## Quotes > ... indicates... 95 percent of Chinese... had... confidence in... government, compared to 33 percent in the US and 45 percent... in the rest of the world. As of 2022... 91 percent, compared to 39 percent in the US. ...[S]atisfaction levels tend to be lower for s. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/indicates-95-percent.md) > China’s investment in ... 40 percent... of GDP... for a country... halfway through... urbanization... may not be high.... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/chinas-investment-in-40-percent.md) > [T]he Chinese... try to balance obligation and deference with free will. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/t-he-chinese-try.md) > China’s economic story... serves as a cautionary tale. [I]n 1978... it began... major reforms... people were mired in poverty. In... ensuing decades, hundreds of millions... were lifted out of poverty. ...But ...[at] a high price ...below-market wages... low... return on... savings... cheaply built housing... environmental degradation and wasted resources... based on a high-cost, high-growth model. > > A poor nation with ambitions... taking shortcuts. ...Rules and regulations ...bent ...to foster GDP growth. Unfair competition... between... insiders... and the... people... countenanced so long as capital flew in, investment grew, businesses boomed, and GDP surged. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/chinas-economic-story.md) > [T]here are still... 870 million people with a monthly income below RMB 2000 (...US$300) ...yet to join the four hundred million in the middle-income group ...by Chinese standards ...RMB 2000—5000—far below the advanced-economy average. ...[A]n enlarged middle-income group ...is the only way to truly bolster China’s consumption engine. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/t-here-are-still.md) > [W]e can... do our best to rise above... sensationalism, stereotypes, and es. Only then can we engage with China in a measured... effective way, critique... and ask good questions. Until we do... we will... get China wrong... when... common purpose has become crucial to addressing... existential threats... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/w-e-can-do-our.md) > A wise state needs to know when to recede... loosen its control and let the economy ride its... ebbs and flows. It needs to guide with a lighter hand... and greater skill, especially in this... era of knowledge and information. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/a-wise-state.md) > But... the next generation of leaders... more educated and fluent with diverse cultures, are... equipped to bridge the gap between... worldviews. ... US education has opened their eyes to... virtues of an open... if not a wholly free society. Their desire to question... challenge... pursue the truth, and to push back against injustice will have important implications... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/but-the-next.md) > 93 percent of Chinese... value security over freedom, as compared to... 28 percent of Americans. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/93-percent-of-chinese.md) > In China, an interventionist state is rooted in , a hallmark... since Confucian times... intervention by a senior... is justified if it benefits a junior... This helps explain the... government... [urge] to steer the economy rather than just... markets... [a]nd... provides a rationale... to liberalize slowly... avoiding... risks, in contrast to... former Soviet bloc economies. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/in-china-an-interventionist.md) > [S]elf-sufficiency without... global engagement is... dangerous... in a world where prosperity and technological proficiency are... network based and interdependent. When economic interlinkages snap, everyone loses, especially the vulnerable. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/s-elf-sufficiency-without-global.md) > China has made the... quantum leap... from US$380 to US$10,000... over... four decades. The second... is to go from US$10,000 to US$30,000... [M]uch... speed of China’s achievement can be ascribed to catching up. But unqualified success... will be... when... 1.4 billion... reach... high-income status, particularly... in a political environment... antithetical to... Western conventional wisdom. ...[H]alf of the most prosperous people in the world... living under Communist rule—not... predicted... when the Berlin Wall fell. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/china-has-made.md) > [I]nnovation has... become... one of the highest forms of... glory. And it is [China's] only... hope of becoming the foremost economic power of the twenty-first century. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/i-nnovation-has-become.md) > [Y]oung people are big spenders, prodigious borrowers... the potential to unleash trillions... into the global economy... [t]hey are... more open-minded and socially conscious... However, ...less suited to Western-style democracy ...[D]eeply layered in the national psyche ...steeped in their ...culture ...traditions, and rooted in their ...communities ...ushering in an era of economic... without political liberalization... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/y-oung-people-are.md) > [Some] Latin American countries... and Asian economies... experienced rapid growth, but... [never] graduated into... high-income countries. ...[I]t could have been due to corruption, political instability, poor , or inadequate investment in ...This ...is ..."the middle-income trap." Since 1960, only 13 out of 101 middle-income economies... escape[d] it. ...China ...may follow... Japan['s]... lost decade of no growth in the 1990s. If, however, China can keep growing at 5 percent on average, and... the US continues... at... 1.5 percent... the Chinese... will overtake the US... by... 2030. China would not be as rich... for several more decades, but... more than a billion Chinese would enjoy the same living standards... However, ...China will need a new model of growth. ...5 percent ...seems overly optimistic ...275 percent ...debt to GDP ...as of 2022 points to ...painful ... ...And threats of make an export-oriented economy ...fragile. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/some-latin-american.md) > Chinese citizens expect... government to take... large roles... and do not see interventions as infringements on liberty. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/chinese-citizens-expect.md) > Extended skirmishes, export bans of semiconductors, and s are reinforcing China’s... course... to attain self-reliance. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/extended-skirmishes-export.md) > COVID-19... in early 2020 China chose to save lives and forsake economic output... the West... swinging the other direction. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/covid-19-in-early.md) > Its rising middle-income group and new generation of s place... demands on civil society and standards of living... a burgeoning emphasis on improving the softer metrics... a cleaner environment... ... . Its new model... slower... saner... growth—more orderly, regulated, and monitored. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/its-rising-middle-income.md) > China’s economy faces major challenges... Catch-up growth is... different from innovation-based growth. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/chinas-economy-faces.md) > There is... room for convergence. China’s productivity level is... only a fraction of the US... China’s share of labor force with a college degree is... smaller than... in South Africa and Brazil, and way below rich countries. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/there-is-room.md) > Entrepreneurs... balance... relationships with local officials... national policy directives, and... regulations... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/entrepreneurs-balance-relationships.md) > Chinese state... power... [and unparalleled] instruments... can... steer, manage, and push the economy... any direction. ...Policy directives, rules, and regulations can be set with little political obstruction. The state can scrap old rules and make new ones overnight... granting or denying... approvals and licenses, or leveraging the to serve a... goal. ...Internal controls and competition curb corruption. ...[C]ivic society holds ...government ...accountable ...Social media ...embodies a two-way monitoring platform ... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/chinese-state-power.md) > Chinese households... make decisions on a collective... basis... a rich network of intergenerational relationships and duties... often... above... . [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/chinese-households-make.md) > The same approach applied to... acquire technology. In its rush to modernize... substandard products, copying and counterfeiting, and investments... with little... efficiency and consequence. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/the-same-approach.md) > Reforming the system... would allow the flow of talent across regions... improve... allocation of labor... [and] reduce regional disparities. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/reforming-the-system.md) > The apparatus... effective in mobilizing... technology like electric vehicles and clean energy has... produced excess... steel and s... to flood... markets... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/the-apparatus-effective.md) > There is a growing consciousness... what is economically efficient may not be socially desirable... economic success does not... guarantee a nation’s... ... China will strive to move beyond socialism['s] shortages and capitalism['s] inequality. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/there-is-a-growing.md) > Western economies... “nudging” s to do the ly optimal thing... have difficulty succeeding. In China... changes can be enacted quickly, with little political opposition. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/western-economies-nudging.md) > Only by fully grasping the new China model... can we... appreciate how different it is from pure capitalism or socialism. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/only-by-fully.md) > The rule of law, sound corporate governance, and intellectual property protection... have been weak... Yet... China... succeeded. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/the-rule-of-law.md) > [T]he backward homeland of my childhood has become the world’s second-largest economy... massive new cities... astonishing technological wonders. Yet... the world is... asking the same questions... comparing China to former Communist... autocratic... repressive regimes. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/t-he-backward-homeland.md) > China’s political centralization is paired with economic decentralization. ...The "mayors" are... equity stakeholders of their jurisdiction. ...[M]arriage of local Officials and ...entrepreneurs is how China reformed, industrialized, urbanized, and ...innovates. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/chinas-political-centralization.md) > [I]n China, innovation and have been defining features... despite socialist characteristics... It has found a way to combine private and state forces... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/i-n-china-innovation.md) > [F]or those who think that China’s all-powerful political party and numerous s (SOEs) point to a state-dominated economy, consider... [T]he ... accounts for... 60 percent of national output, 70 percent of the nation’s wealth, and 80 percent of urban employment. Thirty years ago, it was the other way around. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/f-or-those-who.md) > In China, the confluence of consumers, enterprises, and... state (which exerts significant power...) ...[is] a hybrid... of... market and "mayor" economies... [T]he Chinese state... has... more tools and instruments... mandates and objectives to mobilize collective action in service of... goals. ...[I]t can ...impose mandates and ...punishment. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/in-china-the.md) > Deng Xiaoping... once remarked that it does not matter whether a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice. He... put an end to the... debate about the superiority of socialism and capitalism... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/deng-xiaoping-once.md) > The [West's] market economy... consumers and enterprises connected through a financial system... the state plays a minor role. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/the-wests-market.md) > [C]apitalism’s... virtue... property rights protection and competition... are... weak in socialist systems... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/c-apitalisms-virtue-property.md) > [T]hat a could be compatible... with capitalism... [and] socialism was a breakthrough... [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/t-hat-a-could.md) > China has strong state capacity and weak institutions... advanced countries... have strong formal institutions but state capacity is... eroding. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/china-has-strong.md) > [I]ts model... embodies a... blend of the state and... market economy, striking a balance between state and industry, coordination and market incentives, communalism and individualism. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/keyu-jin/the-new-china-playbook/i-ts-model-embodies.md)