Professor WEN Tiejun (Director, Centre of Rural Revitalization, Peking University)

About the talk: Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, a setback for globalization, and the New Cold War, China has responded by implementing the policy of dual circulation (domestic and international). While trying to counter the crises by maintaining investment-led growth, China has to deal with an over-expansion of credits and serious debts, similar to countries under the impact of financial capitalism. Rural China, however, has always played a role of “social stabilizer” along the path for industrialization and even financialization. Hence, the current challenge is whether China can deploy the strategy of rural vitalization and work out a model for ecological civilization; whether it can strengthen rural collectivity and to support a cooperative economy. Since 2000, the new rural reconstruction movement has already mobilised thousands of officials, intellectuals, workers, peasants, and students to join the trend. Several examples will be provided for discussion.