Chinese economy

Policy brief

published: 22.05.2024

Drinking from a glass half-full? Evaluating China's industrial policy successes and failures and implications for Europe

Alicia Garcia Herrero

Robin Schindowski

China is often credited with successful conduct of industrial policy, yet few policymakers truly understand its working. Authored by Bruegel Senior Fellow Alicia García-Herrero and Bruegel Research Analysist Robin Schindowski, this second brief of a two-piece series on China’s industrial policy looks at the sectoral choices based on two of its most prominent initiatives and their success as well as their caveats. Their analysis highlights both the ambiguous sectoral success as well as the complications with which industrial policy has come. A few conclusions from the Chinese experience can be drawn for the EU and its conduct of industrial policy.

About authors

Alicia Garcia Herrero

Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, Non-resident Senior Follow at the East Asian Institute, Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Economist specialized in monetary and financial issues in emerging markets, banking crises and resolution strategies, financial development

Robin Schindowski

Research Assistant at Bruegel

Economist with a background in Chinese studies, specializing in China’s political economy and industrial organization