Zhang Zhongxiang: Guiding key issues on agenda more important than sway over academic discourse
The following is a summary of Zhang Zhongxiang's comments made during a panel discussion at the Fifth Conference of Government and Economics held at Tsinghua University, Beijing, on April 22, 2023. Dr. Zhang is the Founding Dean and Distinguished University Professor at Tianjin University's Ma Yinchu School of Economics and Director of the China Academy of Energy, Environmental and Industrial Economics.
On April 27, 2023, the Fifth Annual Conference of Government and Economics, co-hosted by the Society for the Analysis of Government and Economics (SAGE) along with Tsinghua University's School of Social Sciences and the Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking (ACCEPT), was broadcasted online. Zhang Zhongxiang, the Founding Dean and Distinguished University Professor at Tianjin University's Ma Yinchu School of Economics and Director of the China Academy of Energy, Environmental and Industrial Economics, joined SAGE Co-President and ACCEPT Director David Daokui Li and a panel of distinguished guests for a roundtable discussion after the conclusion of opening remarks and keynote speeches.
In respect to theory and conducting research, Zhang Zhongxiang remarked that we must not merely focus our attention on explaining the particularity of China’s own path to economic development, but instead should comprehensively explore the theory and logic underpinning China’s experience that has universal applicability. By discovering areas of commonality, we can then seek out greater consensus with and amplify our voice in the international community. The discourse power currently enjoyed by India in the international community and its ability to guide the main issues under consideration lies in the fact that Indian researchers are very good at linking up theory with the various phenomena that describe India’s own experience. As for China, based on the realities of the country’s economic development, making new contributions to general theory and summarizing lessons from China’s own experience are equally important, though many Chinese researchers still tend to focus most of their attention on summarizing lessons learned only within the domestic context. Therefore, we must not lose sight of the need to pursue further advances in our theoretical research.
At the same time, when it comes to providing support for basic areas of research, Zhang insisted that we should refrain from only actively championing key projects, but instead give preferential treatment to making smaller advances. For example, youth programs and general projects can bolster the freedom to explore innovative topics in areas of fundamental research—since many major breakthroughs in fact often occur because of seemingly small advances. The market has a powerful ability to identify the potential value generated by new technologies, which means that those innovations with practical value will necessarily reap the rewards of market forces. Thus, long-term support mechanisms established organically between the government and the market will be extremely important for spurring on innovation.
