Robert Kuhn: China addresses challenges to bolster economy｜My Memory of China

By Chen Tianhao 

(ECNS) – "I wish all my Chinese friends a Happy New Year," Robert Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, smiled and said in both English and Chinese before he shared his memory of China in 2023 during an inclusive interview with China News Network. 

"In my retrospective look back at 2023, I focus on how China dealt with its complex economy, seeking to bolster the economy in the short term in ways that benefit, not sacrifice the economy in the long term." 

Since the beginning of 2023, China's economy continued to make steady progress against the backdrop of the unsteady and weakening momentum of the global economic recovery. Just as Kuhn mentioned, "The challenges were not small," but in his eyes, the Chinese government addressed these challenges, showing the resilience and potential of China's economy. 

"The first thing to say is what the government did not do. It did not inject a blanket stimulus," explained Kuhn, "Leaders know that the benefits of short-term boost are not worth the cost of even larger long-term debt in diminished productivity." 

"Moreover, the importance of high-quality development has been emphasized, which cannot be achieved with fast money," Kuhn added. 

"What the government did do was make multiple, careful, and targeted policy adjustments, including cutting interest rates, helping private businesses access funding, helping consumers purchase household goods, supporting new energy vehicle purchases, easing restrictions on buying property, renovating urban villages, and reducing the stamp duty on stock trades. The list goes on," Kuhn elaborated on China's measures, adding one "innovative approach" – which is "the local government acting as venture capitalists by taking minority stakes of private companies." 

"There is no perfect policy, no magic solution," concluded Kuhn, "Many targeted specific programs are being tried, tested, monitored, optimized and improved. Course corrections but not changing course has been a principle of China's reform, and it is what China does very well."