Participants braved a raging thunderstorm to fill the lecture hall for renowned academic and eminent scholar, Prof Gordon Redding’s lecture on “The Regional Ethnic Form of Chinese Capitalism.” Prof Redding started with an introduction on the Chinese diaspora and its corresponding export of Chinese entrepreneurship all over the world. He then launched into a detailed exploration of the unique characteristics of the Chinese business systems that subsequently developed and also provided insightful comparative statistics on the influence of Chinese firms in Asian economies.
He highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese business systems and also discussed the broader macroeconomic issue of “the middle income trap” among Asian economies, of which only a few Asian countries have broken through. If Chinese firms and capitalism were to flourish, it will have to transform and embrace innovation, cooperation and external talent.
