Striving for Economic and Political Sustainability

Hu Jintao, China's president and Communist Party chief, is asking his government to abandon its 25-year-old policy of striving for the fastest possible economic growth, regardless of the costs to society and the environment. Instead, he wants China to balance sustainable growth with a programme to redress the many negative consequences of two decades of 9%-plus GDP growth. Although we do not expect Hu to fix China's health care system or to deliver a clean and green environment in just five years, we do anticipate enough progress to be achieved so that when the inevitable economic downturn arrives in five to ten years, the country will avoid political and social chaos. And while Hu is willing to accept slightly slower economic growth to manage the problems that threaten social stability, he continues to understand that a strong economy is the foundation for a harmonious society.