Over the weekend of Sept. 19, the 2026 Tsinghua People’s Bank of China School of Finance annual “Chief Economists Forum” was held at Tsinghua University, themed “China and the Global Economy in 2026: Review and Outlook—Global Rebalancing and Re-Architecturing of the International Monetary System.”
The forum coincided that week with a national conference on advanced manufacturing, addressed by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Xi and Li underscored that China’s policy is to invest in “a new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation.” The clear emphasis is on the real economy, upgraded through “innovation-driven industrial development,” according to a report in China Daily.
Perhaps President Xi will discuss China’s successful approach to advancing the manufacturing sector, coupled with international investment, when he meets this week with President Trump.
Prof. Ju Jiandong, of Tsinghua University, organizer of the economists’ forum, delivered a speech in which he put forward a policy proposal for internationalization of RMB government bonds in the amount of 10 trillion yuan, with the proceeds allocated as follows:
RMB 2 trillion to raise pensions for urban and rural residents, boosting household income and consumption
RMB 4 trillion to refinance local government debt and support local investment
* RMB 4 trillion for central government investment in strategic industries such as AI and new energy.
Among the five economists making presentations was Prof. Justin Yifu Lin, former chief economist at the World Bank. Lin argues that slower global economic and trade growth has reduced China’s export growth, making it harder to absorb capacity built on expectations of much faster export expansion. He argues that expanding consumption within China cannot fully offset weak demand across global markets. This should not, however, be read as opposition to increasing consumption.
Prof. Lin’s policy recommendations center on three areas of investment:
1) Industrial upgrading: seizing the opportunities presented by the fourth industrial revolution (AI in industry, robotics, etc.)
2) Domestic infrastructure: focusing on green and new infrastructure— what are referred to in the current (15th) Five Year Plan as the “six major infrastructure networks”: water management, new type power grids, computing power networks, communication networks, upgrading urban underground pipeline networks, and logistics (high-speed cargo) networks
3) Overseas investment: encouraging Chinese firms to establish operations in Belt and Road countries, overseas jobs and incomes, while supporting the development of Chinese industries and productive capacity.
These proposals cohere with a theme of China’s 15th Five Year Plan, that of “original and disruptive innovation” in basic science research as the driver of the overall productivity growth of the economy, as China becomes, as well, a major financial power
