Opinion | Key lessons from China’s ascent over the past 25 years
The country’s rise was shaped less by a single turning point than by its commitment to long-term planning, meritocracy and global engagement
Few developments over the past quarter century have been as consequential or widely debated as China’s ascent to global prominence as the vanguard of a rising Global South. To understand this change, we must look not only at outcomes but at the underlying drivers that made them possible.
China’s development over the last 25 years did not occur by accident. It was not the result of any single policy. Rather, it was the cumulative product of farsighted design and vision as well as an evolving relationship between state guidance and market dynamism.
In hindsight, we can definitively say that this period represents the most sustained development effort in history, one that saw China responsible for most of the world’s poverty reduction and which brought the country forward to its century in the sun.
At the centre of this story is China’s system of meritocratic governance. From top to bottom, public servants are seen not just as administrators but as chief executives of complex economic systems. Their promotions are premised not on public speaking and cheery promises but on tangible outcomes in growth, job creation, infrastructure development, social stability and environmental and technological progress.
The public sector has consistently recruited driven individuals while also tracking and rewarding success, with mayors and provincial leaders hoping to make the jump into a national government career by acting as a sort of public sector CEO. This administrative model incentivises experimentation and accountability at the local level while allowing successful practices to be scaled nationally.
Meanwhile, learning does not stop upon promotion. China’s public sector engages in regular study sessions, policy briefings, institutional training and engagement with scholars and practitioners to deepen understanding and strengthen outcomes. Over time, this resulted in officials with deep experience in managing cities, industries and large populations, which was extremely valuable as China urbanised and industrialised at unprecedented speed.