What will China’s economic policy look like over the next five years? Since the launch of Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms in 1978, the Third Plenum (held every five years) has served as a platform for China’s leadership to convey its vision for the country’s economic future. Originally expected to convene in fall 2023, this Third Plenum was postponed until mid-July 2024. Although there was no public explanation for the delay, it is clear that China’s economy is at a crossroads. Since the last Third Plenum in 2018, the world has been through a pandemic; competitive tension with the U.S. has been on the rise; and China faces challenges that include an aging population, youth unemployment, and a troubled property sector. Foreign tariffs on Chinese goods have also increased, just as the CCP leadership navigates its role as a burgeoning global power in a time of international conflict and polarization.
In an interview conducted on July 22, 2024, Scott Kennedy, in conversation with Lizzi Lee, explores the implications of this Third Plenum for the future of China’s economy, economic policy, and international trade.
Speaker
Scott Kennedy
Scott Kennedy is senior adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He focuses on China’s innovation drive and industrial policy, U.S.-China relations, and global economic governance. His articles have appeared in a wide array of publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and China Quarterly. Major recent publications include U.S.-China Scholarly Recoupling: Advancing Mutual Understanding in an Era of Intense Rivalry (2024); Breaking the Ice: The Role of Scholarly Exchange in Stabilizing U.S.-China Relations (2023); and China’s Uneven High-Tech Drive: Implications for the United States (2020).
From 2000 to 2014, Dr. Kennedy was a professor at Indiana University (IU), where he established the Research Center for Chinese Politics & Business and was the founding academic director of IU’s China Office. He received his Ph.D. from George Washington University, MA from Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and BA from the University of Virginia.
Moderator
Lizzi Lee
Lizzi C. Lee is a fellow on the Chinese economy at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. She is also the host of the New York-based independent Chinese media outlet Wall St TV. Her writing has been featured in The Diplomat, The China Project, World Politics Review, and Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center’s Russia Matters. Her research and insights have been highlighted by Bloomberg, NPR, the South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera, The Sinica Podcast, The Chicago Council for International Affairs, the NEXTChina conference, and Columbia University’s China Conference, among others, providing analysis and commentary on key developments and policy shifts in China’s economic landscape.
Dr. Lee holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT and a B.A. in economics and mathematics from Wellesley College.