Common Prosperity and Inequality in China

2025 ANU CHINA IN THE WORLD FORUM

PANEL DISCUSSION| COMMON PROSPERITY AND INEQUALITY IN CHINA

Economic inequality is a persistent challenge for China’s policy makers. It is compounded by slower growth, changes in the labour market, and limited access to quality education and health care for rural households and migrant workers. In 2021, the Chinese Communist Party laid out a new vision for “common prosperity” (gongtong fuyu), highlighting leadership concerns about the “disorderly expansion of capital” (ziben de wuxu kuozhang) and the uneven distribution of wealth. Since then, government agencies, state-owned enterprises and leading private firms have worked to align themselves with the common prosperity agenda. At the 2025 China in the World Forum, local and international experts will present new research on inequality and common prosperity in the People’s Republic of China, including developments in macro-economic and social policy, private sector innovation, and public governance.

Drinks reception at 5:30pm for 6pm start.

SPEAKERS

Jane Golley, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University
Jane Golley is an economist and Head of the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University (ANU). Her inter-disciplinary research centres around the Chinese economy, with a current focus on demographic change, child nutrition and gender inequality.

Scott Rozelle, Professor, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University
Scott Rozelle holds the Helen Farnsworth Endowed Professorship at Stanford University and is Senior Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) for International Studies. For the past 30 years, he has worked on the economics of poverty reduction. Currently, his work on poverty has its focus on human capital, including issues of rural health, nutrition and education.

Andrew G. Walder, Professor, Department of Sociology, Stanford University
Andrew G. Walder is Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, where he is also a Senior Fellow in the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies. His current work is on China’s economic and political trajectory since the end of the Mao era, with a focus on the corporate sector.

Guanghua Wan, Deputy Dean, Institute of Chinese Modernization and Development, Nankai University

Guanghua Wan is Deputy Dean, Institute of Chinese Modernization and Development, Nankai University, China. Previously, he was Director, Institute of World Economy, Fudan University. Before returning to China, he spent a decade in the Asian Development Bank as a Research Director and Head of Poverty/Inequality Group.

Christine Wong, Visiting Research Professor, East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore
Christine Wong is Visiting Research Professor at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore and Visiting Professor at the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University. Her research expertise is on China’s public finance, focusing on intergovernmental fiscal relations and their implications for governance, economic development and social welfare.

CHAIR

Ben Hillman, Director, Australian Centre on China in the World, The Australian National University
Ben Hillman is a political scientist, public policy researcher, and advisor, and is the Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World. His research examines (i) policies and mechanisms for promoting political inclusion and safeguarding minority rights, and (ii) politics, public policy and public administration in China.

If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation plan please contact ciw@anu.edu.au.

Photo credit: Howei Wang, Unsplash.