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May 20, 2008
David Li & The Chinese Economy
This will probably be my only post that focuses on the academic side of my trip. Up to this point, all of our classes have been informative but nothing too interesting or that was real in-depth. Our afternoon class today was about the current status of the Chinese Economy and its future, taught by David Li – a former UM professor who now teaches at Tsinghua University and is an economic adviser for the government.
His lecture was unbelievably interesting and beneficial to understanding the past, present, and future of the Chinese economy. He unveiled the truths about the Global-China import/export situation, potential growth for China, challenges to the Chinese political and economic situation, and mega-trends of the Chinese future.
One of his most interesting points was the idea of mega-cities throughout the eastern coast of China and high-speed train networks to link them all together. These mega cities would have 100-million or more people in them (Beijing would have more people than most of Europe) and would curb China’s inevitable resource crunch. It was interesting to view cities as energy efficient compared to behemoth energy consumers.
Another interesting point was his view that the Renminbi would be an international currency in 15-20 years. Currently, the RMB is not open to free trade as the government is afraid of a massive bank run. However, once the Chinese allow for free trade, Professor Li predicts the RMB will account for 20+ percent of the World Bank’s reserves. I will either upload my lecture summary or a copy of the lecture slides sometime after I get back.
Meanwhile, apparently dust is being blown in from the dessert at the moment and the city/area is covered in dust. It’s extremely difficult to breathe and walk around as dust flies into your eye. I can feel the dust in my teeth – it sucks. Staying in until Shanghai.
Posted by brianhe at May 20, 2008 06:02 AM