China’s Economic Paradox
Term
China’s Economic Paradox
Idea Level
Others (analytic observation)
Definition
China’s Economic Paradox, as identified by Yuen Yuen Ang, refers to the coexistence of an impressive tech boom and a persistent growth slowdown in Xi Jinping’s China. Xi’s tech-centered priorities and clear mandates push officials overwhelmingly toward high-tech sectors, while weakening incentives to revive the old economy. Ang’s term critiques one-sided, Western-centric views of China’s economy—especially the “peak China” meme—by revealing how collapse-or-dominance narratives amplify either cracks or threats based on Western self-perception, rather than explaining the coexistence of weaknesses and strengths within China.
Caution Against Counterfeit
A counterfeit version of China’s Economic Paradox (2024), using a nearly identical title and reproducing its argument is circulating online. Readers should verify that they are consulting the original publication.
Sources
Primary articulation:
Ang, Y.Y. (2024). “China’s Economic Paradox.” Project Syndicate, 4 September 2024.
Other sources:
Ang, Y.Y. (2025). “From Polycrisis to ‘Polytunity.” South China Morning Post, 28 July 2025.
Ang, Y.Y. (2021). "Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission." USCC.
Genealogy
[Paradigm] Mechanical, Western-centric thinking
→ [Critique] Collapse-or-dominance narratives, especially “peak China”: one-sided readings of China that amplify either weakness or threat based on Western self-perception, rather than explaining the coexistence of weaknesses and strengths within China
Contrast with
[Paradigm] AIM (Adaptive, Inclusive, Moral Political Economy)
→ [Pillar] Adaptive: holistic rather than snapshot analysis of dynamic, contradictory systems
→ [Pillar] Moral: attention to positionality—who is explaining China and from whose perspective
→ [Application: Chinese political economy] China’s Economic Paradox: growth slowdown alongside tech boom under Xi’s shift toward high-tech growth
Quotes
[What is China’s economic paradox and what explains it] Western observers often view China as either a rising superpower on the cusp of global dominance or a fragile country on the brink of collapse. These contradictory takes amplify only one side of China’s economic trajectory: a tech boom alongside a growth slump.
China is accelerating its shift to cutting-edge technologies in the midst of an economic slump and a local-government debt crisis. This approach is unprecedented in modern history.
Xi has made it clear to Chinese officials that he intends his legacy to be a new economy focused on ‘high-quality development’ and ‘new quality productive forces’ (that is, high-tech innovation)… Chinese officials thus have little incentive to take bold steps to revive the old economy: success would do little to improve their standing, and failure could end their careers…
To be sure, even Xi’s harshest critics would not oppose his ambition… But the old and the new economies are deeply intertwined; if the old economy falters too quickly, it will inevitably hinder the rise of the new.
— Ang, "China's Economic Paradox" (2024)
[China readings reflect American self-perception rather than reality] American commentary swings from one extreme to another, sometimes within days. In 2024, the talk of the town was ‘peak China’. It was all over the media. Only a few months later in 2025, do you hear anyone talking about it any more? Suddenly, it has disappeared.
What happened? Did the Chinese economy dramatically perk up within five months? No. It has nothing to do with China’s reality. It is only a reflection of America’s self-perception.
— Ang, "From Polycrisis to 'Polytunity'" (2025)
[Balanced analysis of whole landscape, not selected snapshots] In navigating the U.S-China technological competition, it is especially useful to balance keen awareness of risks and threats with an understanding of these points:
▪ The different comparative advantages in technology that China and the U.S. possess, and how this may yield complementarities and potential cooperation in transnational challenges such as climate change…
▪ Both the strengths and weaknesses of CCP’s top-down industrial policies;
▪ How Beijing’s attitudes toward technology have changed and might change in light of U.S. policies.
A balanced appreciation of the whole landscape can help U.S. policymakers avoid policy mistakes and effectively formulate differentiated, targeted responses.
— Ang, USCC Testimony (2021)
Concept Constellation
Across Ang’s work, China’s Economic Paradox co-appears with the following concepts and analytic themes:
Adaptive Political Economy (holistic analysis)
Margins of the Establishment (on positionality)
Snapshots vs. Moving Pictures [X] (method)
[External terms]
U.S.-China Tech Competition