The EAST Rises – Again: Lessons for Today from China's Past Technological Development

The AGI Public Policy Webinar Series features leading academics and scholars from universities and think tanks around the world presenting current research on global public-policy issues and discussing their significance and implications for Asia and the world. All are welcome.

Watch the replay here. 

Key takeaways: 

• Four factors have shaped China’s historical development: examination, autocracy, stability and technology (EAST). China’s civil service exam, autocracy, stability and uneven technological development cycles explain how it has developed distinctly from Western societies.
  
  
• Innovation occurs in China today, evidenced by strides taken in facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence, but development is driven by the state rather than the private sector. China’s predisposition for stability above all else has contributed to its historical technological stagnation relative to the West.
  
  
• Chinese universities nurture scientific talents but fall behind in producing scientific knowledge – the most widely cited papers are often coauthored with foreign scientists. Given the difficult relationship between China and the US, this raises the question of whether the US should continue to train Chinese students.
  
  
•  Looking ahead, China should seek not to emulate the development path of the US, but rather Asian democratic states as South Korea and Japan, which share similar predispositions for stability but have democratic governance systems which spur innovation.