Arvind Subramanian rebuts the claim that the country’s mercantilist development model has short-changed consumers.
Economics
May 4, 2026
Arvind Subramanian
Calling on China to change its globally distortionary development strategy may well be warranted. But critics cannot question Chinese mercantilism on the grounds that it penalizes China's consumers, whose standard of living has risen faster than anywhere else in history.
WASHINGTON, DC— Is China’s development model short-changing domestic consumers? Although there is almost universal agreement that it is, that does not make it true.
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