The discussion began with Gamini Herath suggesting that the author discuss the likely impact of the 2018 tariffs on China's growth trajectory; would the tariffs result in a shift in China's chosen growth path?
Deborah Swenson wondered how China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are going to perform in more dynamic sectors like aerospace and if the Chinese government planned to treat SOEs and private enterprises equally, as suggested in the paper. She seemed skeptical of the Chinese government's declaration that it will no longer confer special favors to SOEs. “Can a tiger change its stripes?” she asked.
Prema-chandra Athukorala sought clarifications on three points. First, he asked about the status of the U.S. acceptance of the market economy status of China. The United States had agreed to consider this in 2016 but it appears not to have been done. Second, he noted that no data on subsidies given to the SOEs...