China's Anti-Keynesian Insurgent

It's a rare afternoon in the Chinese capital when smog hasn't blocked the skies, and one of China's most famous economists is in a sanguine mood. The economy is in trouble as the Communist Party heads for a once-in-a-decade transfer of power while prosecuting its former golden boy, Bo Xilai, on criminal charges. Worried investors want signs that Beijing remains committed to growthâ??and the sign they'd most like to see is a big Keynesian stimulus.

Zhang Weiying would say that they're wrong to panic. The economic slowdown, he calmly says over tea, is actually good news that "makes the government think we need to change"â??toward reform and away from priming the pump. We aren't all Keynesians now in China, he insists.