Conversations: Sarah Tong on the Chinese economy and economic policies ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party

In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Research Fellow Jennifer Hsu talks with Sarah Tong to explore and assess some of the key stressors of the Chinese economy and major economic policies that have emerged in the last five years. They discuss the contradictory forces at play that are impeding economic structural reforms, the prospect of slower growth and how the international environment will shape domestic economic priorities. 

Sarah Tong is a Senior Research Fellow of the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute and leads its economics cluster. She previously worked at the Development Research Centre of China’s State Council. She obtained her PhD in Economics from the University of California at San Diego. Her research interests concentrate on the development and transformation of the Chinese economy, including trade and foreign investment, development of regions, financial sector reforms, reforms of state-owned enterprises, and China’s evolving industrial and technology policies. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Journal of International Economics and the Review of Development Economics.