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Abstract

The objectives of China’s industrial policy have undergone several shifts since 1978 when the reform and opening-up era began. Broad objectives of industrial policy have included increasing productivity and attracting investments in the early decades, privatisation of state-owned enterprises in the middle decades, and prioritising innovation in more recent decades. While the central and local Five-Year Plans might be the most well-known sources of China’s industrial policy, there are other policy formulations like the “Made in China 2025” or its spin-off “10,000 Little Giants” that contain significant pronouncements. The nature of China’s political system fuels an assumption that there is complete alignment in the implementation of industrial policy at the central and local levels. In this seminar, we will speak to the co-author of a recent paper that has explored this question – Do the words of China’s industrial policy match its deeds? Do policymakers in China say what they mean and get what they want? What are the instruments China uses for its industrial policy and how successful are they?

About the Speaker

Alicia García-Herrero is a Senior Fellow at Bruegel; Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, Hong Kong; an independent Board Member of AGEAS insurance group; Non-resident Senior Fellow at the East Asian Institute (EAI) of the National University of Singapore (NUS); and an Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). She is also a member of the Council of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation (FUF); the Board of the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI); the Council of Advisors on Economic Affairs to the Spanish Government; the Advisory Board of the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) and an advisor to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s research arm (HKIMR). She holds a PhD in Economics from George Washington University and has published extensively in refereed journals and books. Alicia is very active in international as well as social media. As a recognition of her thought leadership, she was included in the TOP Voices in Economy and Finance by LinkedIn in 2017 and #6 in the Top Social Media Leaders by Refinitiv in 2020.

About the Chair

Santosh Pai is a cross-border lawyer, dual-qualified in India and the UK, who offers legal services to foreign investors in India, including those from China and Taiwan. He is a partner at Dentons Link Legal, an Indian law firm, a member of the Core Group on China of the Confederation of Indian Industry, and a Treasurer and Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies. His areas of interest include Chinese investments in India, India-China comparative law and policy, cross-cultural negotiations, and board governance. He holds a B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) degree from NLSIU, Bangalore, an LL.M. (Chinese law) from Tsinghua University, Beijing and an MBA from Vlerick University, Belgium (Peking University campus). His publications include Arbitration Law and Practice in India (China Legal Publishing House, 2021), and Legal Guide for Taiwanese Investors in India (Yuan Zhao, 2023), which have been translated and published in Chinese as well. He has also co-edited Chinese Legal System (1979-2021): Historical Development and Overview (EBC, 2021).