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GREAT MINDS’ “Inside China: Economy,” the second episode of its special series on the country, features Hung Ho-fung, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University. His lecture predicts China’s future by examining 600 years of its economic history, spanning from the end of the Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty to the present day. The first lecture, “Why China Lagged Behind Europe,” discusses why the Qing dynasty, a prime example of a market economy in the 1800s, failed to industrialize and ultimately fell behind Europe.

The second lecture, "How the Communist Party Took Over Mainland China," and the third lecture, "Why China Adopted Capitalism," explore the process of China establishing its economic foundation and embracing capitalism amidst the chaos from the end of the Qing dynasty to the Republic of China, and eventually, the formation of the People's Republic of China. In the fourth lecture, “How the China Boom Happened,” Hung examines the background of China’s rise to an export powerhouse in the 1990s, exploring how the country successfully developed its cities and attracted foreign capital despite social unrest.

The fifth lecture, "Why the State Is Rich but Individuals Are Poor," and the sixth lecture, "Why China Is Facing a Crisis," discuss the challenges the Chinese economy faced after its rapid growth in a relatively short period of time. We investigate the reality of the Chinese economy, now confronting a crisis of imbalance, incoordination, and unsustainability. The seventh and eighth lectures cover the history and current state of US-Sino relations. "Why the US and China Keep Fighting" delves into the background of the turbulent relationship between the two countries from the 1950s to the early 2000s, while "Who Will Gain Supremacy?" explores the possibility of the escalating US-Sino conflict leading to a new world war.