“The Myth of Chinese Capitalism”

Abstract: As discussed in his new book The Myth of Chinese Capitalism, Dexter Roberts will describe how surging income inequality, an unfair social welfare system, and rising social tensions block China’s continued economic rise with implications for companies and countries around the world. He will discuss how China is struggling to leave behind its “Factory to the World” growth model, and include its hundreds of millions of left-behind migrant workers into a more innovative, consumption-driven economy and why that means China may not become the superpower the world expects. He will also discuss how COVID-19 has exacerbated the already huge social disparities in China further complicating its ongoing economic transition and putting it at risk of falling into the middle-income trap. He will discuss how global supply chain diversification is affecting China and the implications of a Trump administration turning its back on engagement while a Xi Jinping-led China is determined to pursue a “wolf warrior” assertive approach to the world.

Dexter Roberts is an award-winning writer and speaker on China now serving as a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a Fellow at the University of Montana’s Mansfield Center. Previously he was the China bureau chief and Asia News Editor at Bloomberg Businessweek, based in Beijing for more than two decades. Roberts’ first book, The Myth of Chinese Capitalism: The Worker, the Factory, and the Future of the World, was published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2020. He also publishes a weekly newsletter called Trade War.

This event is organized by the China Research Center and co-sponsored by the CIBER at Georgia Tech.