A Bridge on Economic Issues between China and the World
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The Rise of China as an International Lender
Zhengyang Jiang, Dec 16, 2025In the past decade, China has become the largest creditor to developing countries, surpassing the IMF, World Bank, and Paris Club countries. This column discusses how China's overseas lending interacts with US monetary policy – another key driver of the global financial cycle. It finds that Chinese and US policies jointly influence the level and the distribution of risk exposures in developing countries. As a result of China's expanding role in international lending, the architecture of global financial intermediation is also undergoing a fundamental transformation, carrying important implications for the stability and functioning of the international monetary system.
Integrating Jurisdictions, Dividing Workers: Consolidation, Labor Markets, and the Migrant-Local Wage Gap in China
Shiyu Bo, Yi Wang, Dec 24, 2025We examine how China’s recent wave of city-county mergers reshaped local labor markets. Using individual-level data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey and a staggered difference-in-differences approach, we find that the reform boosted wages by strengthening local economies and improving governance...
How Rural Pensions Boosted China's Economy
Qingen Gai, Naijia Guo, Bingjing Li, Qinghua Shi, Xiaodong Zhu, Dec 31, 2025China’s New Rural Pension Scheme unexpectedly lowered the high cost of migration by freeing younger workers from household duties – boosting migration, wages, household welfare, and even national GDP.
How Do New Firms Shape Regional Economic Growth in China?
Loren Brandt, Gueorgui Kambourov, Kjetil Storesletten, Dec 09, 2025Barriers to entry facing new firms are a major source of regional economic differences. Removing these barriers can play an important role in economic convergence and growth.
High-Speed Rail and Local Agricultural Development
Xiaoguang Chen, Binlei Gong, Zhilong Qin, Xiaoli Wang, Jan 07, 2026We study China’s extensive high-speed rail (HSR) expansions to address a key policy concern that large-scale transport infrastructure may undermine agriculture and food security. We find that HSR expansion facilitates the outflow of labor and land from agriculture, yet does not reduce agricultural output because productivity rises.
