Bolstering China’s Economy:
Too Little, Too Late?
featuring
Richard Hornik
Senior Adjunct Fellow
East-West Center
Speaker’s summary:
After months of dithering, reportedly due to Xi Jinping’s opposition, Beijing finally began in September to address the PRC’s economic stagnation with measures designed to increase the amount of credit available in the economy. Shortly after Donald Trump’s electoral victory — amid fears of increased tariffs — it followed up with a $1.4 trillion rescue package designed to alleviate a growing crisis in local government finances tied to the ongoing collapse in real estate values. Amid global pressure to rein in China’s overheated export drive, even Chinese economists admit that far more will need to be done to turn the economy around. Will Xi Jingping concede that the economy’s belt needs to be loosened a few more notches?
Richard Hornik is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the East-West Center. During his 40-year career in journalism he served as Executive Editor of AsiaWeek, News Service Director of TIME magazine, and TIME’s Bureau Chief in Warsaw, Boston, Beijing, and Hong Kong. He co-authored Massacre in Beijing: China’s Struggle for Democracy, and has written on China for Foreign Affairs, Fortune, The New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. He also served as Interim Editor of the Harvard Business Review. Mr. Hornik was a Lecturer at Stony Brook University from 2007-19, where he helped develop and propagate its innovative News Literacy curriculum now used in over 40 universities worldwide. He was a Visiting Lecturer at Hong Kong University in 2012 and at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2015, where he was also the inaugural Daniel K. Inouye Visiting Scholar.
The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center policies or positions. Affairs

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok in 1977. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.


