China’s Economic Miracle Comes Down to Earth
Old China hands have maintained for years that the country’s economy would stay strong through the Olympics. Well, now the Olympics are almost done, the stock market has crashed, and inflation is out of control. So is this the end?
My guest Philip Pan, former Beijing bureau chief for the Washington Post and author of the new book Out of Mao’s Shadow, knows better than to make pinpoint economic predictions. But he wisely observes that no economy can sustain momentous growth forever, and that without political reforms China’s bust could be a violent one.
See part one of my discussion with Pan, where he argues that free-market capitalism won’t necessarily lead to democracy in China.
