What the U.S. Can Learn from China

Ann Lee provides an unvarnished assessment of China’s political economy and governance structure, analyzing the sources of China’s success and identifying lessons that can be applied by other governments regardless of ideology. As a Chinese-American who emigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong at the age of seven, Lee is uniquely situated to help Americans understand how China sees its own society and how to adapt some Chinese practices to benefit the U. S.

For example, the Chinese economy is designed to make the kind of unproductive and unrestrained financial speculation that has devastated much of the West impossible. Aspiring Chinese politicians have to pass tests to prove their competency to govern. The Chinese homicide rate is a fifth of what it is in the U.S. While not blind to China’s shortcomings, Lee argues that rather than demonizing China, a more productive use of time and resources is to learn from this rising power in order to maximize the talent of millions of people.

Ann Lee is an adjunct professor at New York University, where she teaches finance and economics, and a senior fellow with Demos. She has appeared on CNBC, CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS and Bloomberg and has written for The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, BusinessWeek, and Forbes. She's also a frequent presenter on Chinese television.