Interview with Brocky: China’s Economy Leads the World in Reflecting on the Essence of Development
Throughout the long river of Chinese civilization, several periods have been termed "flourishing ages" (shengshi) [1] due to their high economic prosperity, advanced science and technology, active trade, and significant international influence. From the "Rule of Cheng and Kang" [2] in the Western Zhou to the "Prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong" [3] in the Qing Dynasty, ancient China’s economy underwent a long and rich evolutionary process. Modern China endured numerous setbacks, where wars and a turbulent social environment adversely impacted economic development. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and following a difficult journey, reform and opening-up allowed the Chinese economy to take flight once again. The establishment and refinement of the socialist market economy system have enabled China to gradually become the world's second-largest economy. Its growing economic influence has not only driven sustained and rapid domestic development but has also contributed significantly to the global economy. As a unique case study, the trajectory of China's economic development has long been a subject of keen research for overseas scholars. Chinese Social Sciences Today (中国社会科学报) recently interviewed Carles Brasó Broggi, a professor in the Department of Arts and Humanities at the Open University of Catalonia, Spain. Professor Broggi shared his insights on the history of China's economic development, the similarities and differences between ancient Chinese and Western development models, and the primary factors behind contemporary China's economic takeoff.
Chinese Social Sciences Today: Historically, in which periods did the Chinese economy perform prominently on a global scale and exert a positive influence on global economic development?
Broggi: I believe the Chinese economy has possessed significant influence and a leading global economic status across multiple historical periods; this is a view shared by the British scholar Angus Maddison and many other economic historians. Among the various factors, a massive population has been one of the key elements of China’s economic advancement historically. The sole exception was the period from 1840 to the 1970s, when China remained one of the most populous countries but its economic performance was unsatisfactory. This situation was rapidly reversed after China’s reform and opening-up. After more than forty years of extraordinary growth, China’s share of the global economy and population has returned to the world’s forefront.
In the five-thousand-year history of Chinese civilization, certain dynasties performed particularly brilliantly in terms of economic, scientific, and technological development. From the Zhou Dynasty, famous for its bronzeware, to the Han and Tang periods, the artifacts produced in China were exquisite and spread to all parts of the world through trade. The Song and Yuan dynasties are widely recognized as milestones in the history of global technological invention and economic development, while the economic prosperity of the Ming and Qing dynasties was equally formidable—all of which exerted a positive influence on world economic development.
The "Four Great Inventions"—the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing—are certainly outstanding achievements of ancient China in the field of science and technology, but we should look beyond this framework and understand these achievements from the perspective of global technological history. These four inventions did not exist in isolation or by chance. From the earliest rice cultivation in the Neolithic period to the modern conquest of malaria by Traditional Chinese Medicine, and to recent leading technologies in fields such as electric vehicles and clean energy, Chinese technological development has had a profound impact on the world.
The international academic community should re-examine certain turning points in world economic history. For example, it is generally believed that Britain initiated the Industrial Revolution in the mid-18th century with the invention of the spinning jenny. However, such a machine was recorded as early as the Yuan Dynasty in the Nong Shu (Book of Agriculture) [4] authored by the agronomist Wang Zhen, nearly 500 years before the British Industrial Revolution. I believe the point of this example is not about who first invented the spinning machine, but rather the momentous shift of replacing the hands of textile workers with machinery. Indeed, industrialization has had a positive impact on the world economy, but its adverse effects on the climate cannot be ignored; as early as the late 13th century, Wang Zhen warned the world to be wary of the negative impacts that machinery might have on social organization and nature.
In the late Qing period, the famous industrialist Zheng Guanying founded modern China’s first cotton textile mill and played an important leading role in China’s early modernization process. It can be said that China has not only made significant contributions to global economic development but has also guided (and continues to guide) us in reflecting on how we should develop.
Chinese Social Sciences Today: What was the development model of ancient China? What was the relationship between political institutions and economic development? Please compare the development models of ancient China and the West.
Broggi: First, both ancient China and the West followed development models based primarily on agriculture, with the Silk Road connecting East and West. However, this connection was dispersed, with both sides mainly trading high-end commodities such as silk or horses. To increase grain yields and facilitate transport, ancient China invested heavily in infrastructure construction, such as the Grand Canal and various irrigation projects. Consequently, China's governance model was more effective, complex, and far-reaching than that of some European countries. Although China experienced wars and periods of division, the state was unified for most of its history, whereas the situation in Europe was the exact opposite.
Second, both ancient China and the West exerted a lasting influence on agricultural development. Chinese rice and European wheat shaped the long-term dietary habits of the people in these two regions, habits that continue to this day. When we compare life expectancy, we must consider the dietary habits passed down and rooted in culture. For instance, the culinary cultures of the Mediterranean and East Asia share common historical origins related to trade, cross-cultural exchange, and migration, all of which have made our dietary cultures rich and profound.
Third, some scholars believe that rice culture led Asia to produce more diverse political structures than Europe, a point reflected in Marx’s theory of the Asiatic mode of production. According to this and similar theories, Asian states produced economic models—distinct from European feudalism and capitalism—by monopolizing land ownership to implement irrigation projects. However, while the infrastructure for rice crops required higher levels of political management, we can see that ancient China’s feudal monopoly on land ownership and its capitalist practices in trade or manufacturing shared similarities with other regions of the world.
Although China’s development differed greatly from Europe’s in terms of natural endowments, economic scale, and development policies, the economic laws of the market, state intervention, and social structures (such as feudal or capitalist relations of production) were largely consistent. For example, in ancient times, both China and Europe (and the rest of the world) had production modes based primarily on agriculture, and their development depended on the climate and renewable energy. Although the economic conditions of such societies were not as advanced as those of modern industrial and service-based societies, they were more equal among different groups.
Chinese Social Sciences Today: The Chinese economy has achieved world-renowned success since reform and opening-up. Could you discuss the primary factors behind this success?
Broggi: Since reform and opening-up, the Chinese economy has achieved astonishing growth, making this success one of the most interesting topics in economic history. I believe this success cannot be explained by one or two simple points, and the academic community has yet to form a comprehensive theory of China’s development, but I believe several factors cannot be ignored.
First, since reform and opening-up, China has absorbed various opinions from domestic and foreign economists and theorists, learned lessons from past experiences, and invited scholars of capitalism and socialism, as well as experts from the "Global South," to discuss key issues of reform. I believe this open-minded attitude toward reform is very important. Second, the economic policies of reform and opening-up have been highly pragmatic and incremental, vastly different from the radical reforms of the Soviet Union. In the 1980s, China conducted experiments in small areas or specific industries, such as establishing Special Economic Zones, while the government continuously evaluated the pros and cons before promoting beneficial reform measures nationwide. Third, China's demographic structure boosted rapid economic development. Young people growing up in the 1970s and 80s either chose to work in factories or attended universities for higher education. They are a strong and disciplined generation that has made major contributions to economic development. Furthermore, appropriate population policies increased GDP per capita, leading to a massive improvement in living standards. China skillfully combined endogenous and exogenous drivers, allowing economic growth to persist over several decades—an unprecedented feat in world economic history—while simultaneously continuously improving the living standards of its people.