2 Oct 2021

Prof Jason Young: the domino effect of Evergrande's debt crisis

From Saturday Morning, 8:10 am on 2 October 2021
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Photo: VUW

Heavily indebted Chinese property developer Evergrande hit headlines last week as the world waited to see if the company would cause China’s ‘Lehman moment’. And while that now looks unlikely, observers say the situation marks a turning point in China's rapid growth model.

Professor Jason Young says the Chinese economy is transitioning, but what shape it will take is unknown - with some parties pushing a neo-Maoist line, while others for a more standard socialist economy. Whatever the case, Professor Young says we should be paying close attention.

Professor Young is the director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre and Associate Professor in International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China

Xi Jinping, president of the People's Republic of China and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Photo: AFP