Imperial College Press Zhu Rongji and China's Economic Take-Off

Review Professor Wong's book on Zhu Rongji and his economic policies is well-informed, clearly written and will be of great interest to scholars, students and interested lay-readers and indeed to China-watchers one and all! --Malcolm Warner, Emeritus Fellow and Professor University of Cambridge, UKThe author concludes that it was Zhu's pragmatic macroeconomic management that was responsible for China s economic takeoff into self-sustained growth. This is a valuable volume for students and researchers on Chinese economy. It sheds light on Zhu Rongji s logical, realistic, and unique handling of the Chinese economy during a crucial period. --Institute of Developing EconomiesZhu Rongji is well known as a powerful Chinese leader who played an important role in continuing the Chinese economic reforms in the 1990s and into the twenty-first century. Less well known, however, is just what economic reforms Zhu Rongji pursued in his role as Deputy Prime Minister and then Prime Minister of China and whether those specific reforms were a success or not. There are few people better qualified to analyze and write about this critical period in Chinese economic history than Professor John Wong of the National University of Singapore. Professor Wong has been one of the most accomplished economists studying and writing about the Chinese economy beginning even before the reform period began in 1978 and continuing to the present. This book is a must read for anyone interested in China's economic reforms and Zhu Rongji's special role in many of the key turning points in the reform era. --Dwight H Perkins Harold, Hitchings, Burbank Professor of Political Economy, Emeritus of Harvard University, US Product Description Professor John Wong's book makes it clear that there can be no doubt that Premier Zhu Rongji was responsible for the highly successful reforms during his stewardship of the Chinese economy between 1991 and 2003. Moreover, it was due to the foundations that he laid, in the management of the exchange rate, international trade, public finance and taxes, that the Chinese economy has been able to continue to grow rapidly during the past decade. Lawrence J Lau Ralph and Claire Landau Professor of Economics The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China The Kwoh-Ting Li Professor in Economic Development Emeritus of Stanford University, USFollowing Deng Xiaoping's economic reform and opening (Gaige Kaifang) policy, China experienced unprecedented high growth for over three decades. Crucial in the process was the role of Zhu Rongji, who was hand-picked by Deng initially as Executive Vice-Premier and later full Premier to carry through the needed reform and manage the critical marketization process through the turbulent 1990s when China's economy suffered many ups and downs. Dubbed as China's "Economic Czar", Zhu tackled many thorny problems associated with the country's then half-reformed economy ably and effectively, thereby laying the ground for subsequent periods of greater dynamic growth. Zhu was instrumental in preparing China's economy for its final take-off.The chapters in this volume were originally written as "policy briefings" for the Singapore government from 1997 to 2003 when Zhu was Premier. They cover a wide variety of topics including how he had applied his own way of "macroeconomic control" (Hongguan Tiaokong), how he went about reforming taxation, foreign exchange and state-owned enterprises, and finally his embrace of capitalism. Each chapter is preceded by a detailed introduction highlighting the main issues and interpreting them from today's perspective based on updated information and additional new research.