Old Cold War frame of binary opposites (authoritarian-communism vs. democratic-capitalism) won't work understanding Sino-American competition today

No doubt, CCP is an authoritarian regime, AND with an authoritarian revival under Xi, but...

@supchinanews #NEXTChina Conference https://twitter.com/supchinanews/status/1326569264078225409

1. Was it top-down centralized control that led to China's growth?

No, under Deng, it was "democratic characteristics" injected into authoritarian regime that enabled adaptive growth

Thus, CCP propagandists can't sell autocracy as a "model" - except by distorting history

2. Is China a model for "state capitalism"?

Goodness, what does this term even mean?

Fact is, Chinese private sector accounts for 60% of GDP, 70% of innovation, 80% employment.

3. Is America the opposite of "state capitalism"? Has it never used industrial policies?

No. US government played crucial role in supporting technological innovation.

SBIR program, started under Reagan, provided more than $2 billion of grants and subsidies to high-tech firms

The lesson from America’s upheavals today is that even a mature democracy must be constantly maintained in order to function; there is no “end of history.” As for China, we learn that liberalizing tendencies can be reversed when power changes hands. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-america-false-dichotomy-of-autocracy-democracy-by-yuen-yuen-ang-2020-10