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Analysis and opinion · Book review · 8 Oct 2026 · 5 min

The New China Playbook

How the Chinese economy really works, with mayors as the engine.

By China Connect

The film is in Dutch.

Book
The New China Playbook
Author
Keyu Jin
Published
Viking, 2023

The film 04:35

The presentation 19 slides

The New China Playbook · Translated from the Dutch original.

  1. 01 Opening: the book, the author and the structure
  2. 04 The China puzzle: not capitalism, not socialism
  3. 07 The model: the mayor economy, entrepreneurs and the state
  4. 10 The next phase: consumers, technology, finance and the future
  5. 15 Caveats and what it means for entrepreneurs

Book review · Keyu Jin · The New China Playbook · Beyond socialism and capitalism: what the Chinese model means for entrepreneurs · ChinaConnect · October 2026
01 / 19
Programme · Four parts, one puzzle · China is neither capitalism nor socialism. So how does it work, and what does that mean for our business? · The China puzzle · The model: mayors and entrepreneurs · The next phase: consumers, tech and money · Caveats, and what it means for us · ChinaConnect · The
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The book · An economist explains China to the West · Viking, May 2023 · 368 pages · 10 chapters · FT Best Summer Books 2023 · Keyu Jin · Born in Beijing (1982), PhD in economics from Harvard · LSE and HKUST · Lecturer at the LSE (2009–2024), professor of finance at HKUST since 2025 · Chapters 1–2 ·
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Part 1 of 4 · The China puzzle · Not Western capitalism, not old-style socialism. So how did China grow so fast?
04 / 19
The core · “The power of the state is the system's greatest potential, and at the same time its greatest risk.” · Keyu Jin, The New China Playbook (paraphrased) · Her thesis: China combines political centralisation with strong economic decentralisation. It will not converge on the Western model. · S
05 / 19
The economic miracle · Reform in steps, not by masterplan · The countryside · Farmers may sell their own surplus: the household responsibility system. · Special zones · Special economic zones, then fourteen open coastal cities. · 1990s · State firms · State-owned firms are exposed to the market and
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Part 2 of 4 · The model · Ambitious mayors and fearless entrepreneurs: the engine of Chinese growth.
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The mayor economy · Mayors as dealmakers · “Local officials need entrepreneurs more than the other way round.” · Keyu Jin, UBS interview (2023, paraphrased) · How it works · Power is central, execution is local. Mayors are judged on local growth. · The tools · Tax breaks, land, industrial parks and
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State, market and entrepreneurs · Not state capitalism, but a pragmatic hybrid · Paradise and jungle · Private firms dominate manufacturing, services and tech. They grow fast, often in grey zones. · The state steers · State firms hold strategic monopolies, but the state does not run everything. Jin
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Part 3 of 4 · The next phase · From quantity to quality: the consumer, technology and money.
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The consumer and the new generation · A new generation of consumers, in a country that saves · of consumer credit goes to the under-35s · The generations of the '80s and '90s borrow and spend · 2× · as much spent on food and clothing · As previous generations, despite lower incomes · ⅓ to 60% · of t
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The tech race · From one to N, rather than from zero to one · The United States · Zero to One · Fundamental breakthroughs · Strong basic research and patient capital · Inventing new categories · China · One to N · Scaling, adapting and commercialising · Alibaba, JD and Didi beat eBay, Amazon and Ube
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The financial system · The weakest link · This is where Jin is most critical. · Banks dominate · ± 80% of credit flows through banks, mostly to state firms and property. · A paternalistic state · Interest-rate caps, IPO approvals and bailing out investors time and again. · Hidden debt · Local govern
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China's future · Lower growth, better growth · Jin rejects both the collapse scenario and that of a lost decade. · Largest economy · China will eventually be the world's largest economy. There is 'excessive pessimism'. · Stabilisation · Within three to five years, as property weighs less heavily. ·
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Part 4 of 4 · What does this mean for us? · Caveats on the book, and six actions for entrepreneurs.
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Caveats · Five question marks · A clear and influential book, but also a benevolent one. · Too rosy · Yasheng Huang (MIT): the mayor economy misallocates capital; the growth figures are doubtful. · The Xi era · Party cells in companies, the Alibaba crackdown and zero-Covid: more state, more risk. ·
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What does this mean for us? · Six actions for European entrepreneurs · Think regionally · Mayors are dealmakers. Compare cities and provinces, not just Beijing. · Choose your partner wisely · A state firm gives access, a private firm gives speed. · Target young consumers · A market for premium and l
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Sources · Further reading · Jin, K. (2023). The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism. Viking (US), Swift Press (UK). · Jin, K. (2023). What the world can learn from China's innovation playbook. TED. Interviews with UBS and NPR. · Jin, K. (2025). Interviews with Børsen and the Lex Frid
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In closing · Beyond socialism and capitalism · China plays its own game. Learn the rules on the ground. · chinaconnect.be →
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