Korean experts discuss China's middle-income trap

Beijing (CNS) -- South Korea successfully transformed itself from a developing country to an industrialized economy after World War II, and we can learn from their experience, said a Chinese expert.

The World Economy and Politics Institute, under the umbrella of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is regarded as an important think tank of the Chinese government, inked a cooperation agreement with South Korea Fund of Northeast Asia Study in Beijing on May 21.

The institute's director, Zhang Yuyan, said despite making rapid progress in recent years, the Chinese economy is facing more and more challenges and how to avoid falling into the middle-income trap is one of the hot topics of discussion.

The middle-income trap refers to the economic phenomenon of a country reaching a middle-level of income per capita, then being incapable of completing an economic transformation; the stagnation and turbulence Latin American economies experienced in the 1980s and 1990s is an example.

As a part of the new agreement, from August to December, the Chinese partner plans to invite two Korean economists to deliver monthly speeches sharing their perspectives on the Chinese economy.