What Drives China’s Success?

On September 19, 2014, Alibaba of China created the largest U.S.IPO2= Initial Public Offerings首次公开募股。指一家企业或公司（股份有限公司）第一次将它的股份向公众出售。in the modern history.Thirty years ago,no one in the world imagined this could happen.Nobody believed that China would be able to grow its GDP3= Gross Domestic Product国内生产总值。at an average of 10% per year, becoming the second largest economy in the world in 2010 and expected to surpass4surpass超过，胜过。the American economy by 2025.Nobody would believe that China has not only become the “World’s Factory,” but also sent their astronauts into space.Since 1978, China has lifted more than 500 million people out of poverty, creating one of the largest economic miracles in the later 20th century.

2014年9月19日，中国阿里巴巴集团在美国上市，近代历史上美国融资额最大的IPO由此诞生。30年前，没有人料到这一幕竟会成为现实。没人相信中国能保持年均10%的GDP增速，并于2010年成为世界第二大经济体，且中国经济有望在2025年之前超越美国。也没有人会想到，中国现在不仅已成为“世界工厂”，还把自己的宇航员送入太空。从1978年至今，中国已使超过5亿人摆脱贫困，创造了20世纪末最伟大的经济奇迹之一。

[2]What drives China’s success? One major explanation is through the introduction of market mechanisms5mechanism机制，机构。, modern technology and management from the West.Since Deng Xiaoping imple-mented6implement使生效，实施。the open and reform policy,China has experienced rapid productivity improvement.Obviously, learning from the West is an essential contributor to China’s economic growth.However,it alone fails to explain why many other nations in Africa, South America and South Asia were unable to duplicate7duplicate复制，重复。China’s success, though lots of them have implemented democracy and have little restriction of trade and information.

[2]那么，中国的成功之道是什么呢？一种主要的说法是，中国从西方引进了市场机制、现代科技和管理方法。自邓小平推行改革开放政策以来，中国的生产力实现了突飞猛进的发展。显然，学习西方经验对促进中国经济的增长发挥了重要作用。然而，仅凭此说难以解释为何非洲、南美及南亚的许多国家难以复制中国的成功，尽管这些国家中有许多已推行民主，在贸易与信息方面也几未设限。

[3]Alternatively8alternatively或者，要不。, some scholars attribute China’s success to better governance9governance管理方法，统治方式。of the Chinese government.Dambisa Moyo, an economist regards China as “new idol for emerging economies.” Thomas Friedman10《纽约时报》专栏作家，曾三次获得普利策奖。著有《从贝鲁特到耶路撒冷》《世界是平的：21世纪简史》等畅销书。also gave significant credit11credit赞扬，功劳。to the Chinese government for its ability to get things done quickly by stating “what if we could just be China for one day?”

[3]此外，有些学者将中国的成功归因于中国政府治国理政的高效高能。经济学家丹比萨·莫约将中国视为“新兴经济体的新偶像”。托马斯·弗里德曼还掷地有声地表示：“要是我们也来当一回中国，只当一天，会怎样？”——以此盛赞中国政府雷厉风行的治国理政能力。

[4]It is true that the Chinese government has done an extraordinary job in managing a difficult transition12transition过渡期，转变期。from an isolated nation, to a largely open,economic driven nation without falling into turmoil.The Chinese government has also successfully implemented many pro-development policies such as Special Economic Zones and industrial development guidelines.However, the opposite views could argue that the Chinese government has also created many problems, such as serious corruptions,pollution and inefficiency in allocating13allocate分配，划拨。economic resources, all of which hinder14hinder妨碍，阻止。growth.As a matter of fact,the Chinese leaders have recognized many weaknesses in their governance and President Xi Jinping has called for modernizing China’s governing systems.Even with the right governmental policies, China cannot achieve success without a highly motivated and competitive workforce—human capital.

[4]的确，在从孤立的国家蜕变为颇为开放的经济导向型国家的艰难过程中，中国政府表现出色，并始终保持国家稳定。同时，中国政府还成功出台了许多以发展为先的政策，如经济特区及工业发展指导方针。然而，也有不同的声音出现，认为中国政府也引发了许多问题，比如严重贪腐、环境污染及经济资源配置效能低下等——所有上述问题都会阻碍国家发展。事实上，中国的领导层已经认识到其治国理政中存在的诸多不足，国家主席习近平已对推进国家治理体系现代化提出了要求。但即便政府出台的政策正确合理，若无具备高度积极性和强大竞争力的劳动力大军，即人力资本，中国仍无法取得现在的成就。

[5]I would argue, among the major drivers for China’s success are the Chinese people, the true creator of China’s economic success and the great culture that shapes their characteristics: ambitious, hardworking, thrifty, caring for their families and relentlessly15relentlessly持续地，不屈不挠地。pursuing good education and success.

[5]因此，我认为，中国民众对中国取得成功也发挥了举足轻重的作用，他们是中国经济成就和伟大文化的真正创造者，正是这样的文化塑造了中国人的品格：志向高远，勤勉奋发，生活俭朴，照料家人，对优质的教育和成功孜孜以求。

[6]We all knew the American Dream,a symbol of American ambition.However, people are largely unaware that there are more than 40 Chinese phrases(Chengyu), to encourage children and adults to have big dream for their future.These motivate Chinese people to study diligently and work hard.Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth,and Faith in the New China, authored byNew Yorkerreporter Evan Osnos,echoes this untold secret of China’s success: Ambition, which is calledZhixiangin Chinese.

[6]我们所有人都知道“美国梦”，它象征着美国式的理想。然而，人们大多不知道中文里有40多条成语鼓励孩童和成人都胸怀大志。这些成语激励中国人勤勉奋进，励志笃学。《纽约客》杂志记者欧逸文所著《远大理想之时代：在新中国追求财富、真相和信念》一书就契合了中国成功背后那个不为人知的秘密：远大的理想——中文叫作“志向”。

[7]The next secret of China’s success is an emphasis on education.Each year,China educates about 6-7 million college graduates, 40% with engineering and science degrees.Chinese educated scientists and engineers are rapidly driving China’s technological advancements and economic growth.In fact, educated Chinese immigrants have become a major driving force in America’s high tech and engineering industries as well.

[7]中国成功的另一个秘诀是重视教育。中国每年有大约600万至700万大学毕业生，其中40%为理工科专业。中国接受过良好教育的科学家与工程师正在迅速推动中国的科技进步与经济增长。实际上，有高等教育背景的华人移民也已成为美国高科技和工程领域的重要推动力量。

[8]Thrift16thrift节俭。is another secret of China’s success.With a 25% personal saving rate, Chinese people rarely suffer from personal bankruptcies or foreclosures17foreclosure丧失抵押品赎回权，又称抵押人赎回抵押品权利的取消。指抵押人由于未能履行抵押品赎回期间的要求，从而失去赎回抵押品的权利。.The huge saving by Chinese people have created financial security for many Chinese families, reduced government spending on social welfares, and helped fund many grand infrastructure projects in China, such as the world’s #1 high speed railway system.

[8]中国成功的背后还有一个秘诀，那就是厉行节约。中国的个人储蓄率高达25%，因而鲜有个人破产或抵押人丧失赎回抵押品权的案例。中国民众的高额存款确保了很多家庭的财务安全，减少了政府在社会福利领域的开支，并且为一大批重大基础建设——比如世界第一的高铁网——提供了财力支持。

[9]The above are just a few examples of how the Chinese culture, predominately18predominately占优势地，显著地。Confucian values shapes Chinese people’s characteristics and drive China’s success.In 1979, Herman Kahn, the world-famous futurist,predicted, “the Confucian ethic—the creation of dedicated, motivated, responsible, and educated individuals and the enhanced sense of commitment, organizational identity, and loyalty to various institutions—will result in all the neo-Confucian societies having at least potentially higher growth rates than other cultures.” In 1980,Roderick MacFarquhar,the world-renowned China expert and Harvard Professor declared: “That ideology [Confucianism]is as important to the rise of the east Asian hypergrowth19hyper-growth高速增长。hyper-表示“超出”“高于”。economies as the conjunction20conjunction结合，联合。of Protestantism and the rise of capitalism in the West.”

[9]上文只是试举几例，说明以儒家价值观为主导的中国文化如何影响了中国人的品格，以及如何推动了中国的成功。享誉世界的未来学家赫尔曼·卡恩在1979年就曾预言：“儒家伦理中的种种理念——培养乐于奉献、锐意进取、勇担道义与深思博学之士，增强责任感、组织认同感与对各种体制的忠诚度——会让所有新儒家社会享有较其他国家（至少可能）更高的增长率。”世界知名的中国问题专家、哈佛大学教授马若德1980年曾宣称：“那种意识形态（儒家思想）对东亚急速增长经济体之崛起的意义十分重大，就像西方基督教新教之于资本主义崛起一样。”

[10]In my opinion, China’s success is built upon an inseparable three-legged stool: Pro-development government policies, learning from the West, and great cultural values that help create highly motivated and competitive human capital.Today, the global economic rivalry21rivalry竞争，对抗。is not only a competition on governance of a nation, but also a competition on its human capital and cultural values.Any nation who wants to advance their economies needs address both.

[10]在我看来，中国的成功立足于不可分割的三个方面：鼓励发展的政策导向，学习西方经验，以及培育具有高度积极性与强大竞争力的人力资本的伟大文化价值观。如今，全球经济竞争不单只是治国理政的比拼，更是人力资本与文化价值观的较量。对任何一个国家而言，要想推动经济发展，就必须双管齐下。