What Andrew Batson thinks about China
China economy researcher based in Beijing who writes on his personal blog about Chinese political economy, history, books and music.
Everything they publish, on ppll ↗
Andrew Batson did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
9 dated positions, 2025 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Andrew Batson has said — not written or endorsed by them.
-
Their wordsMy view is that an appreciation of China's REER is very much to be desired, but the real (haha) way to get there is through higher inflation domestically, and that means different macro policies.
↗Real talk about the exchange rateandrewbatson.com 1st of 3 in this piece
-
Our readingComplaining about China's trade surpluses and excess capacity has not worked and will not work.
Their wordsI think complaining about trade surpluses and excess capacity has not worked, and is not going to work.
↗Real talk about the exchange rateandrewbatson.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
-
Their wordsPolicy decisions have condemned a generation of Chinese youth to widespread under- and un-employment.
↗Real talk about the exchange rateandrewbatson.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 8 months earlier
-
Their wordsBoth of these trends are a consequence of economic success, in terms of higher output and productivity: at least some of what is decried as "de-industrialization" is good actually. It is also good for China's planners to recognize that reality and not distort the economy in pursuit of an impossible outcome.
↗China bows to de-industrializationandrewbatson.com 1st of 2 in this piece
-
Their wordsThere's even a case to be made that those policies actually depressed the manufacturing share of GDP: by boosting output and capacity above where they would have been otherwise, subsidies probably contributed to the sustained decline in prices for China's manufactured goods over the past few years, weighing on their share of nominal output.
↗China bows to de-industrializationandrewbatson.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 5 weeks earlier
-
Their wordsOne possible reading of the last century or so of political history in China, therefore, is that governments who provide a meritocratic channel for social advancement have legitimacy and popular support, and governments who do not provide one, do not.
↗Exams are everything in Chinaandrewbatson.com 1st of 2 in this piece
- 7 weeks earlier
-
Their wordsOn this measure, state capacity at the local level looks much stronger in China than in India, which helps explain some of the long-running economic differences between them.
↗Historical trajectories of local government in India and Chinaandrewbatson.com 1st of 2 in this piece
-
Their wordsChina does much better in basic service delivery-and its local governments have also played a very obvious and important in driving growth, thanks to the competition and experimentation among local officials driven to develop their jurisdictions.
↗Historical trajectories of local government in India and Chinaandrewbatson.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 2 weeks earlier
-
Our readingChina faces a genuine, sizable output gap right now, not just a lower structural growth ceiling.
Their wordsI'm with the markets here: I believe in the output gap. The structural slowdown of the Chinese economy is an incredibly consensus view, and I believe in it too.
↗Who believes in China’s output gap?andrewbatson.com 1st of 2 in this piece