Having celebrated its 70th birthday on October 1, 2019, the People’s Republic of China proudly boasts a host of tangible economic achievements. Today a large part of the Chinese population enjoys a standard of living that is significantly higher than a few decades ago, and the country has become one of the pillars of the global economy. The rise of China in the world is undoubtedly the greatest challenge ever posed to a cardinal principle of liberal philosophy: the importance of political freedom for economic growth. The transition “from the plan to the market” was implemented by introducing market mechanisms into an economic system otherwise controlled by the Communist party. “Socialism with Chinese characteristics” is an exceptional combination of an adroit conception of economic policy and market tools, which has brought about the only successful case of state capitalism.

Alessia Amighini teaches Economics at the University of Eastern Piedmont and is co-head of the Asia Centre and senior research fellow at the Institute for International Political Studies in Milan. She is co-author (with Olivier Blanchard and Francesco Giavazzi) of “Macroeconomics: A European Perspective” (4th ed., Pearson, 2021).