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Skyline Scholars Series

Wednesday, May 28, 2025 | 1:00-2:30 pm Pacific Time
Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall, 616 Jane Stanford Way

China's Economic Development From a Perspective of Modernization

China’s economic success can be attributed to its leadership’s pragmatic approach and its respect for grassroots initiatives. The near double-digit average GDP growth during the first three decades after 1978 was achieved through bottom-up industrialization, without fundamentally altering the “ancient regime.” With industrialization largely completed—as evidenced by massive excess capacities—the country faced an urgent need to shift its growth engine from investment to innovation, a transition that demands a very different set of institutions. Delays or failures in making this shift—namely, in modernizing its institutions—may lead to the so-called “middle-income trap” and diminish hopes of becoming a leader in the global race for cutting-edge technologies. This talk explores China’s developmental trajectory through the lens of modernization theory, highlighting both the achievements and the institutional challenges that lie ahead.

About the Speaker
 

Dr. Xiaonian Xu is Professor Emeritus at CEIBS, where he held the position of Professor of Economics and Finance from 2004 to 2018.  In recognition of his contributions, he was named an Honorary Professor in Economics from September 2018 to August 2023. He is also Skyline Scholar at the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions from 2024-25 at Stanford University.

Between 1999 and 2004, Dr. Xu served as Managing Director and Head of Research at China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC). Before joining CICC, he was a Senior Economist at Merrill Lynch Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong from 1997 to 1998, and worked as a World Bank consultant in Washington DC in 1996. Dr. Xu was appointed Assistant Professor of Amherst College, Massachusetts, where he taught Economics and Financial Markets from 1991 to 1995. Earlier in his career, he was a research fellow at the State Development Research Centre of China from 1981 to 1985.

Dr. Xu earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Davis, in 1991, and an MA in Industrial Economics from the People's University of China in 1981. In 1996, he was awarded the distinguished Sun Yefang Economics Prize, the highest honor in the field in China, for his research on China’s capital markets. His research interests include Macroeconomics, Financial Institutions and Financial Markets, Transitional Economies, China’s Economic Reform, Corporate Strategy and Digital Transformation. His publications include: Freedom and Market Economy (《自由与市场经济》), There has Never been A Savior (《从来就没有救世主》), The Pendulum Swinging Back (《回荡的钟摆》), The Nature of the Business and the Internet (《商业的本质和互联网》), and The Nature of the Business and the Internet, 2nd Edition (《商业的本质和互联网》第二版).

A dedicated educator, he has been recognized with the CEIBS Teaching Excellence Award in 2005 and 2006, as well as the esteemed CEIBS Medal for Teaching Excellence in 2010.

Questions? Contact Xinmin Zhao at xinminzhao@stanford.edu