China’s Economic Remodeling and Europe

Chinese interlocutors often stressed similarities between the country's new five-year economic plan and the Europe 2020 strategy - both of which were focused on green, intelligent, and inclusive growth. The perceived parallels between the two programs could be usefully exploited in the EU-China dialogue in spite of differences concerning the mechanics of implementation.

Economic planning in China was more illuminating than was often assumed. Policy decisions were the result of extensive negotiations between stake-holders with China's provinces playing an important role. The value of this system lied in the competition it created between cities. It also allowed for experimentation. As one insider noted, ' China is not like the West where you can't close anything down. In China, you can experiment and if something doesn't work, you close it down. ' At the same time, there was a limit to the autonomy that the provinces were able to exercise as strategic decisions require a green light from the central government. Enforcement was an additional challenge: local governments preferred to focus on growth rather than follow policy guidelines.