This book aims to explain the secret to China’s rapid growth over the last 40 years from the viewpoint of a firsthand witness. Zheng Xinli was enrolled as a graduate student of economics 40 years ago, at a time when very few Chinese people could enroll in higher-level education, let alone graduate school. Since 1978, he has been engaged in the study of macroeconomic theory and economic policy. He has worked with the economic group of the Research Section of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Information Center, and the Policy Research Office of the State Planning Commission, as well as other organizations. His work serves to help Chinese leaders in making economic decisions. In 2013, Zheng Xinli appeared on the list of China’s Top Ten Economists. With the addition of several up-to-date articles, this book is mainly a condensed version of a 16-volume collection of essays selected from among the more-than-500 articles published by Zheng between 1981 and 2016. Addressing some of the major issues in China, namely, Reform and Development, Development Patterns, Macro Regulation, Balanced Urban and Rural Development, Innovation, and Industry Revitalization, the book, as Zheng himself puts it, visualizes the birth process of different policies and measures which have catered to the different stages of reform. As an insider, and also partly as a designer and architect, Zheng Xinli provides readers with a view of China’s reform from the top.
Zheng Xinli is a well-known economist, professor and doctoral tutor, currently serves as Vice Chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.
Prof. Zheng has been engaged in the study of macroeconomic theory and economic policies for a long time. From August 1978 to August 1981, he studied in the Industrial Economics Department of Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Social Science and obtained a master degree in economics. From August 1981 to December 1987, he worked in the economic group of Research Section of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC), as a division-level investigator and Deputy Group Leader of the economic group. From December 1987 to July 1990, he worked as Deputy Chief Economist in the State Information Center. From July 1990 to June 2000, he worked as Deputy Director, Director, Deputy Secretary General and Press Spokesman successively in the Policy Research Office of the State PlanningCommission. From June 2000 to April 2009, he worked as Deputy Director of Policy Research Office of the CCCPC. He was also Vice Director of 11th CPPCC Economic Committee. From October 2014 till now, he is Executive Vice President of the China Urban-townization Promotion Council, which he initiated.
