China’s Hard-line Turn with Chris Marquis

Conventional wisdom held that China’s embrace of free markets would lead to a more liberal society. But as Xi Jinping was appointed in October 2022 to a third five-year term as China’s supreme leader, many have commented that the opposite has occurred and instead, Chinese leadership has a renewed embrace of Maoist principles, which has the potential to usher in a new era of geopolitical and economic relations with China. 

In this Roundtable discussion, we will be joined once more by Christopher Marquis, the Sinyi Professor of Chinese Management at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. Chris is author of the award-winning books Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism and Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise (an FT Best Book of 2022).  Chris’ career brings us a rich perspective, as in addition to his sociological and historical background at prestigious institutions spanning Cambridge, Cornell and Harvard, he worked for six years in the financial services industry, most recently as vice president and technology manager for a business unit of J.P. Morgan Chase.  

In this discussion, he examines with us: What does the renewed inclination in Maoist principles mean for the future of the Chinese economy and relations with the West? For business strategists, what are the nuanced implications of how this will affect enterprises’ strategy as dynamics change in trade, markets and economics over the coming years and beyond?