The Washington Consensus Versus The Beijing Consensus

Abstract

The Beijing Consensus could become an alternative to Anglo-American neoliberalism, presented by some in the West as a “one-size-fit-all” model for all developing countries. That neoliberal model, dubbed by John Williamson as the Washington Consensus, turned out to be more harmful than helpful to the countries that received loans from the IMF and WBG. The Beijing Consensus, a term coined by Joshua Cooper Ramo, has created a Chinese economic miracle, lifting it to become the second largest economy in the world and over 700 million people out of poverty within less than 40 years. Contrary to some pundits in the West predicting an imminent economic collapse, the Chinese economy continues to grow at an annual average of 6.5% and contributes to over 30% of global economic growth since 2008.