Munk Debates: Will China Drive the Global Recovery?

The Munk Debates recently hosted a live debate in Toronto on the question “Be it resolved, the 21st Century belong to China”.  The pro argument was put forward by Niall Ferguson and my Tsinghua University colleage Li Daokui (David Li).  The con side was taken by Henry Kissinger and Fareed Zakaria.  You can watch it (and vote) here.

In association with this event, I was asked by The Globe and Mail to participate in an online mini-Munk Debate on a related topic, “Be it resolved, the Chinese economy will drive the global economic recovery.”  The pro argument was made by Paul Evans, director of the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia.  I argued the con side.  You can watch our online debate (and vote on who you think made the most persuasive case) here.

The Globe and Mail also published op-eds briefly outlining our main arguments.  You can read Paul’s (pro) case here, and my (con) case here.

UPDATE:  On a related note, you may be interested in checking out this Bloomberg article, which appeared last Friday, in which I was quoted.  It suggests that consumer spending in China may actually be declining, as growth slows.  The anecdotes offered are certainly interesting.