Wendy Leutert authors policy publication on China’s domestic challenges for RAND
Wendy Leutert, associate professor and GLP–Ming Z. Mei Chair of Chinese Economics and Trade at the Indiana University Hamilton Lugar School, is a contributing author to a new RAND Corporation policy publication, “Understanding China’s Politics, Policies, and Society.” The volume collects papers commissioned for the 2024 inaugural conference of the RAND China Research Center, featuring leading scholars and policy experts invited to share insights on key issues shaping contemporary China.
Leutert was joined at the all-day conference by Hamilton Lugar Master of International Affairs (MIA) student Grant Morgan, who assisted her with related research. Morgan traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate with the support of the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development. Also present was Hamilton Lugar School East Asian Languages and Cultures and International Law & Institutions alumna Elizabeth “Libby” Weaver, who works as a Chinese language specialist research assistant at RAND.
Leutert’s contribution, “China’s Growing Domestic Economic, Social, and Environmental Challenges: A Review of the Literature,” provides a wide-ranging analysis of China’s internal pressures and their strategic implications. In it, she examines how slowing GDP growth, youth unemployment, demographic shifts, gender inequality, and a deepening rural–urban divide are reshaping China’s development trajectory. In addition, her review addresses environmental challenges such as resource scarcity, pollution, and climate change, and how these intersect with governance, public health, and economic growth.
Her analysis also highlights China’s evolving policy priorities under current leader Xi Jinping, including the securitization of economic sectors, the expanding role of state-owned enterprises, and the pursuit of technological self-reliance. Leutert identifies key areas for future research, including the complex ties between the state and firms, and the growing global implications of China’s domestic challenges.
Students interested in exploring these topics further may enroll in Leutert’s courses on Chinese politics, political economy, and the state’s role in development, offered through the Hamilton Lugar School’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.
Find the full conference proceedings at the RAND website.