China's Economic Ascent Lessons: 25 Years of Meritocracy and Vision

It wasn't an accident. China's meteoric rise over the last quarter-century stands as the most sustained development effort in human history. By lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty, China has firmly established itself as the vanguard of a rising Global South.

According to Wang Huiyao writing for SCMP, this ascent didn't stem from a single turning point. Instead, it's the cumulative product of farsighted design and a unique relationship between state guidance and market dynamism.

China's Economic Ascent Lessons from Meritocratic Governance

At the heart of this success is a system of meritocracy where public servants aren't just administrators—they're chief executives of complex economic systems. Promotions aren't handed out for rhetoric. They're earned through tangible outcomes in GDP growth, job creation, and technological progress.

This "public sector CEO" model incentivizes mayors and provincial leaders to experiment at the local level. When a policy works, it's scaled nationally. This administrative agility allowed China to navigate unprecedented urbanization and industrialization at a speed the world has never seen before.

Continuous Learning and Global Engagement

Learning doesn't stop at the top. The public sector engages in constant study sessions and policy briefings, bridging the gap between scholarship and practice. Coupled with a commitment to global engagement, this approach has transformed China from a peripheral player into a central node of the global economy.