The China Center marked its 45th anniversary with a dinner celebration featuring the 2024 Bob and Kim Griffin Building U.S.-China Bridges Lecture. Yasheng Huang, Epoch Foundation professor of global economics and management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, presented “The China Model at a Crossroads: Implications for U.S.-China Relations in a Shifting Global Environment.”
Huang discussed the issues with the China Model, arguing that the China Model, as currently practiced in China, is a betrayal of the political and economic policies that began under Deng Xiaoping. He argued against the idea that the China Model policies led to China’s economic takeoff, explaining that many of the challenges facing China today are a direct result of the China Model.
The right policy direction for China is breaking from the China Model, according to Huang, and reducing the power and the size of the Chinese government. Huang also said China needs to reform its political system, improve relations with the West, and create policies that lead to enfranchisement.
In recognition of the China Center’s 45th anniversary, three former directors shared their reflections at the event. Pat Needle reminisced on the early years of the China Center and how it fostered academic, cultural, and professional exchanges. David Pui shared memories of arranging presidential visits to China and being greeted by hundreds of excited alumni, an experience which led to the creation of a book about distinguished Chinese alumni. Hong Yang recalled how the Griffin Lecture series began and expressed hope that the China Center would continue to be a catalyst for building U.S.-China bridges.
“While the development of an equitable, peaceful, and sustainable U.S.-China relationship remains crucial, a solution cannot be reached without mutual understanding and multifaceted bilateral cooperation,” said China Center Director Joan Brzezinski. “The China Center is facing new and tough challenges ahead but together we can build a stronger bridge of exchanges and understanding.”
Harvey Charles, vice provost for international affairs, also highlighted the challenges facing the U.S.-China relationship but expressed hope for the future.
“Regardless of what lies ahead, I urge all of us to remain committed to the values of openness, engagement, and collaboration, as these are the prerequisites for healthy universities and prosperous nations,” Charles said.
About the Speaker
Professor Yasheng Huang is Epoch Foundation professor of global economics and management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. From 2013 to 2017, he served as an associate dean in charge of MIT Sloan’s global partnership programs and its action learning initiatives. His previous appointments include faculty positions at the University of Michigan and at Harvard Business School.
Professor Huang is the author of 11 books in both English and Chinese and of many academic papers and news commentaries. His 2023 book, The Rise and the Fall of the EAST: Examination, Autocracy, Stability and Technology in Chinese History and Today (Yale University Press), was selected as a best book of 2023 by Foreign Affairs magazine. He is currently collaborating with Chinese academics on a book project, The Needham Question, based on a comprehensive database on Chinese historical inventions and politics.
He is a co-principal investigator in a large-scale multidisciplinary research project on food safety in China. Professor Huang founded and runs China Lab and India Lab, which have provided low-cost consulting services to hundreds of small and medium enterprises in China and India. From 2015 to 2018, he ran a program in Yunnan province to train women entrepreneurs (funded by Goldman Sachs Foundation).
He has held or received prestigious fellowships such as National Fellowship at Stanford University and Social Science Research Council-MacArthur Fellowship. National Asia Research Program named him one of the most outstanding scholars in the United States conducting research on issues of policy importance to the United States. He has served as a consultant at World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and OECD, and serves on advisory and corporate boards of non-profit and for-profit organizations. He is a founding member and is serving as the president of Asian American Scholar Forum, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to open science, protection of rights, and well-being of Asian American scholars.
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