Annotation

 This course aims to acquaint students with the development of China’s economy since the beginning of pro-market reforms in 1978. It will lay out the logic and aims of the main reforms, explain the resulting changes in China’s economic performance and finally describe the contemporary Chinese economic system and analyze its advantages and shortcomings. Special attention shall be given to the increasing role of industrial policy and state interventionism under Xi Jinping, as well at to the contemporary trade war and technological rivalry between China and the United States. Moreover, the course will account for the China’s role in international economic organizations and depict the growing impacts of its economic rise on third countries, both via both trade and political projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

 At the end of the course, students should be able to explain what makes China’s economy distinct from both Western liberal capitalism and Soviet-style central planning, to have gained a grasp of China’s growing global commercial clout and to possess an understanding of the main causes and nature of the current US-Chinese economic and technological rivalry.

Seminar:

 During the 8^th week of the semester, a seminar will take place. This seminar will be concerned with the following question: “Which country is to blame for the US-China so-called New Cold War?”

 Students shall be divided into two equally large groups, one of which will advocate for the position that the deterioration of relations is the fault of the United States (= the pro-Chinese group), whereas the other group will attempt to prove that it is in fact China who caused the tensions and rivalry (= the pro-US group). You are also welcome to at least partially delve into the wider question of which country is preferrable as a global hegemon from the perspective of third countries.

In order to stake out this position, each student is going to write a position paper, at least 3 norm pages long, and submit it at least 2 days before the seminar, that is on the 3rd of November.

It is recommended to explain your position on issues such as:

·       China’s and America’s compliance with WTO agreements and international law in general,

·       China’s alleged unfair trade practices, such as the theft of intellectual property, mistreatment of foreign investors, or strategic use of subsidies to support Chinese companies; and whether or not are such practices necessary for development,

·       The costs of the trade war for consumers and firms in both countries,

·       Whether or not the deep economic intertwining between China and the West, as well as China’s technological progress, poses a threat to the West ,

·       The relevance of human rights considerations (Hong Kong, Xinjiang etc.; American racial minorities),

·       China’s growing authoritarianism under Xi Jinping, the alleged erosion of US institutions and liberal democratic standards under Donald Trump

 However, it is not at all necessary to cover all these topics in your paper, and in fact it is allowed and recommended to focus on topics that favor your side of the argument.

 In total, a student can obtain at most 5 points for the seminar. The evaluation will take into account both the quality of the position paper and the student’s active participation in discussion.

 Even though a student is supposed to advance his or her side of the argument, the text should not be outright biased, propagandistic or dishonest! It is welcome for students to include counter-arguments against their position and persuasively refute them, it is on the other hand not recommend to use half-truths or otherwise distort reality.

Exam:

The course shall be concluded by a written exam comprising four open-ended questions. Each answer will be given up to 5 points, therefore, the maximum possible amount of points a student can obtain from the exam is 20.

Evaluation:

In order to successfully complete the course, a student needs to acquire at least 10 points. Points are going to be translated into grades as follows:

 25-22,5 points - „A“

22-19,5 points - „B“

19-16,5 points - „C“

16-13,5 points - „D“

13-10 points - „E“

9,5-0 points - „F“