The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and Springer Nature will jointly host the launch of How Nations Succeed: The China Case Study, a new book by economist and CCG Vice President David Blair, on Tuesday, October 13, at CCG’s Beijing headquarters.
In the book, Blair offers an analysis of China’s economic governance model and its transformation over recent decades. Beginning with a comparative history of the Chinese and U.S. economies from 1979 to 2025, he analyzes the distinct historical phases of China’s transformation and stresses that the details of a nation’s financial system determine whether a sustainable fundamental transformation is possible.
Challenging conventional theories, he attributes China’s achievements to its ability to combine a government-planned financial system that promotes capital investment in infrastructure and industry, highly competitive markets in almost all sectors of the economy, and Confucian/socialist social capital. Using these systems, China created a benevolent cycle of high investment, fierce competition, and rapidly rising real wages.
Looking into future, he argues that China is now in the midst of a further transition to a new growth model based on industrial upgrading and concludes that China’s unique blend of state facilitation, social capital, strong competition and adaptive reforms offers a viable model for balancing technological progress with broad-based prosperity.
The book launch will be followed by a seminar bringing together David Blair and senior scholars and experts to discuss China’s economic transformation, the factors behind its development, and the drivers of future growth.
Speakers will include Henry Huiyao Wang, President of CCG; David Blair, Vice President of CCG and author of How Nations Succeed: The China Case Study; Mabel Lu Miao, Co-founder and Secretary-General of CCG; Wang Zhi, Professor and founding director of the Global Value Chain Research Institute at the University of International Business and Economics; and other invited experts.
When: 15:00–16:00, Tuesday, October 13, 2026 (Beijing Time)
Where: CCG Headquarters, 12 B10, West Wing, Hanwei Building, No. 7 Guanghua Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Language: English
No RSVP required — just drop by.
Agenda
15:00 – 15:05 Welcoming Remark
Mabel Lu Miao, Co-founder and Secretary-General of CCG
15:05 – 15:10 Opening Address
Emily Zhang, Senior Editor for Business, Economics, and Political Science, Springer Nature
15:10 – 15:25 Book Launch
David Blair, Vice President of CCG; author of How Nations Succeed: The China Case Study
15:25-16:00 Seminar
Henry Huiyao Wang, President of CCG; former Counsellor of China State Council
David Blair, Vice President of CCG; Former Chairman of the economics department at the Eisenhower School of National Defense University in Washington, DC; author of How Nations Succeed: The China Case Study
Evans Davidgeraint，Director of the Science Popularization Experiment Center of Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Mabel Lu Miao, Co-founder and Secretary-general of CCG
Wang Zhi, Professor and founding director of the Global Value Chain Research Institute of the University of International Business and Economics
Yan Sen, Senior diplomat, former Project Director of the China Investment Promotion Office at UNIDO
Q&A
About the Author
David Blair is an economist specializing in macroeconomics, monetary policy and entrepreneurship. He has also held numerous positions related to foreign policy. He retired in 2016 as professor of economics and finance from the Eisenhower School of National Defense University in Washington, where he also served as chairman of the economics department. Previously, he was a senior columnist at China Daily.
He holds a PhD in economics from UCLA and was a MacArthur Foundation Avoiding Nuclear War Fellow at Harvard University. He has led projects and consulted in Italy, Tajikistan, India, Bulgaria and Ethiopia.
About “China and Globalization” Book Series
CCG and Springer Nature are currently publishing sixteen books under “China and Globalization” book series which covers global governance, diplomacy and international relations, and economy and commerce. In this series, Chief-editors Dr. Henry Huiyao Wang and Dr. Mabel Lu Miao hope to provide a representative and in-depth look into China that has so far been lacking in the English-speaking world. This series boasts of over three hundred contributors internationally, including Graham Allison, Kishore Mahbubani, Joseph Nye and Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps, to name just a few.
This series is designed to present a wide range of global views on issues related to China and Globalization, opportunities and challenges of China’s rise in the world and China’s roles in global governance, global economy, global development and global security. It outlines China’s international relations with major global powers and the rest of the world, and it contains recommendations and proposals for the future of sustainable development, prospects for China’s further capital and market liberalization, and China’s globalizing trajectories as experienced by the world. As the first of its kind to publish the works of over two hundred contributors internationally, this book series seeks to create a balanced global perspective by gathering the views of highly influential global opinion leaders, former statesmen, ambassadors, well-known academics and think tank experts, multinational CEOs and foreign chambers of commerce from China and around the world.
The chief-editors of this series are Dr. Henry Huiyao Wang, Founder and President of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), and Dr. Mabel Lu Miao, Co-Founder and Secretary-General of CCG.
About CCG
The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) is a leading international non-governmental think tank in China. Founded in 2008, it was the first Chinese think tank to obtain special consultative status with the United Nations, as well as the first Chinese social think tank to rank among the world’s top 100. It has been ranked as the top social think tank in China on numerous authoritative domestic and international think tank rankings.
CCG also offers a nation-wide post-doctoral research program, the only non-governmental think tank certified to do so by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. CCG is a member of the Belt and Road Think Tank Alliance, a founding member of the US Research Think Tank Alliance established by the Ministry of Finance, and serves as the secretariat for the “Global Youth Leaders Dialogue (GYLD)” initiative. In 2021, the “Global Youth Leaders Dialogue (GYLD)” project, initiated by CCG, received a reply letter from President Xi Jinping.
Headquartered in Beijing, CCG maintains multiple branches and overseas representatives both domestically and internationally, and boasts a seasoned team of full-time think tank researchers and professionals. Adhering to the professional principles of “internationalization, influence, and constructiveness,” CCG upholds the philosophy of “Global Vision for China, Chinese Wisdom for the World” It is dedicated to in-depth research in areas such as globalization, global governance, international relations, international trade and investment, international talent and corporate globalization, the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese diaspora, and think tank development.
About Springer Nature
With a portfolio of over 2,700 journals and over 220,000 books, Springer is a global leader in academic and scientific publishing. We empower authors to share impactful research, enable readers to access trusted content, and collaborate with institutions and communities to advance knowledge worldwide. Whether you’re publishing cutting-edge science or foundational texts, Springer provides the reach, credibility, and support to help your work make a lasting difference.
