Press Releases

Press Advisory: Asian Century Lecture Series public talk by Professor Woo Wing Thye

The Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI) is pleased to invite you to its inaugural Asian Century Lecture Series public talk conducted by Professor Woo Wing Thye.

Title:   The Return of China to the World Stage
Date:  June 25th, 2010
Time:  4pm
Venue: Wawasan Open University (Theatre 2)

Abstract

China has come through the Global Financial Crisis with a stunning GDP growth rate of 8.7% in 2009.  This success came from having the state-controlled enterprises undertaking massive investments funded by loans from the state-controlled banks.  China should soon replace this type of macro-stimulus with new growth drivers to ensure the sustainability of its high growth.  The threat to continued high growth comes from three fronts (a) hardware failures e.g. financial collapse; (b) software failures, e.g. social instability; and power supply failures, e.g. environmental catastrophe.  China needs a new growth strategy to move to from macro-stability to macro-sustainability in the next phase of its return to the center of the global stage.  This new growth strategy will have to reflect not only China’s changed domestic situation but also its great and growing impact on the world.

The Speaker

Woo Wing Thye is a Professor  of Economics  at  the University of California at Davis, Yangtze River Scholar at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, Director of the East Asia Program within The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. His current research focuses on the economic issues of East Asia (particularly, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia), international financial architecture, comparative economic growth, state enterprise restructuring, fiscal management, and exchange rate economics.