The Beijing Consensus? How China Has Changed the Western Ideas of Law and Economic Development

Is there a distinctive Chinese model for law and economic development? If so, what does it constitute in the context of concrete policies? Can China's deviation from conventional models be explainable by existing literature? These questions have ignited the debate between the Beijing Consensus and Washington Consensus. This essay provides a systemic, comprehensive account of these seemingly basic yet underexplored questions. Engaging in comparative studies, the author, together with a group of leading legal scholars, create a new set of benchmarks to evaluate the conventional wisdom that the Beijing Consensus challenges and that of the Beijing Consensus itself. Examining various areas of law, including property, securities, company, tax, banking and finance, judiciary, anti-corruption, and law and development theories, we conclude that no clear “Beijing Consensus” exists. That said, its challenge to the conventional wisdom invites reformers everywhere to engage in dialogue about the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese policies, helping us to understand what we can — and cannot — conclude from China's experience