The idea of a ‘Chinese model’: A critical discussion

This discussion offers a critical analysis of the idea of a ‘Chinese model’. The idea originated in the successful economic development of the People's Republic of China beginning in the 1990s, and has attracted even more attention since China's apparent success in coping with the global economic recession since 2008. The discussion examines: (a) Chinese attitudes toward the idea of an ‘exportable’ model, (b) the historical context of revolution for China's development that is often ignored in discussions of the ‘Chinese model’, (c) whether or not it is possible to speak of a ‘model’, since China's development is very much a work in progress, and (d) what may be the appeals and the shortcomings of the path of development China is pursuing. I suggest that a ‘paradigm’ for inspiration may be a better way to understand what Chinese development represents than a ‘model’ for emulation.